Sharjah24 - Reuters: Mexico's ruling party was on track to win four of six state elections on Sunday, preliminary results showed, tightening President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's hold on power in the run-up to the contest to succeed him in 2024.
Lopez Obrador's leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) and its allies led gubernatorial races in the states of Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Hidalgo and Tamaulipas, according to partial preliminary voting tallies by electoral authorities.
Opposition candidates were ahead in counts in the central state of Aguascalientes and Durango in the north. The results were broadly in line with most opinion polls. All of the states holding elections began the day in opposition hands.
Capturing four of the six governorships would give MORENA control of 20 of Mexico's 32 regional administrations, and underline the electoral clout the president still boasts. Governors allied with MORENA also run two other states.
Julio Ruiz, a 52-year-old teacher, said he was looking forward to MORENA increasing its power. "If we're all with the president, we'll fare better," he said while on the way to cast his vote in the center of Oaxaca City in southern Mexico.
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