MEXICO CITY: The Mexican government said on Sunday that it would challenge the Supreme Court's temporary suspension of parts of a controversial electoral reform pushed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The Supreme Court on Friday halted parts of the reform that was a scaled-down version of a failed constitutional reform originally sought. The court will consider a lawsuit from the independent electoral institute INE that seeks to overturn it.
Mexico's government said in a statement that it would challenge the decision through its legal department and blasted the suspension of the court.
The government said that it is an unjustified and unnecessary resolution because it is false that the fundamental rights of citizens are put at risk, as well as the organization of the elections.
It is essential that the ministers who make up the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation act within the powers that they have, without trespassing the limits imposed by the Constitution and laws, it added.
The Supreme Court said in its statement Friday that the case involved the possible violation of citizen's political-electoral rights. The leftist Lopez Obrador has bitterly clashed with electoral authorities throughout his political career.
Late last month, Mexico's Senate gave its final approval for the electoral reform known as Plan B, which critics warn will undermine democracy since it significantly downsizes the INE while giving more power to local officials, many of whom are members of Lopez Obrador's MORENA party.
The reform aims to reduce the bureaucratic costs of elections and strengthen democratic principles, according to the government.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets days after lawmakers approved the reform, in one of the largest protests against Lopez Obrador's four-year old administration.