Mexico City — Mexico’s ruling party Morena has revealed additional details of the survey with which it will select its nominee for the 2024 presidential elections. The survey began Monday and will conclude on September 3.
The party will survey 12,500 people as it seeks to choose a “national coordinator” for the campaign, who is widely expected to be the candidate, according to Morena’s national head Mario Delgado’s statement, which he shared in a text message.
Four external polling firms will each conduct 2,500 surveys, while the party’s electoral committee will carry out a survey of an additional 2,500 people.
The details come as Morena enters the final week of its party primary process, and which has faced criticism over its opacity.
The selection process will culminate with the nominee that will seek to succeed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador named on September 6.
The ballot paper is circular with the six candidates listed: Ricardo Monreal, Manuel Velasco, Adán Augusto, Marcelo Ebrard, “Noroña”, the moniker under which Gerardo Fernández Noroña has decided to run, and Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
Each ballot paper is numbered and carries a QR code, as well as visible and non-visible security measures, according to Delgado.
The ballot papers will be signed by the representatives of the aspirants who will accompany the pollsters during their survey, “in such a way that they cannot be falsified or changed,” Delgado said.
The ballots will be deposited in transparent ballot boxes that will be transferred to a vault in Mexico City at the end of each day.
Once in the counting stage, the candidates’ representatives will certify that they are the packages they validated with their signature, and will be able to verify the count “ballot by ballot”.
Though López Obrador has vowed not to interfere in the candidate’s selection, tensions have been on the rise after one of the top contenders, former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, said the party leadership was favoring former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
The external polling firms have signed a confidentiality agreement, and the identity of the firms will not be released until September 6, according to Morena head Delgado.
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