Mexico’s Federal Electoral Tribunal has officially declared Felipe Calderon of the ruling National Action Party (PAN) the next president of Mexico. The accusations of fraud were thrown out, and leftist opposition candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is out of the picture. Mexico’s electoral debacle has come to an end. Sounds pretty straightforward and simple, but these statements are only partially true.

Two months and two days after Mexicans went to the polls, the tribunal validated the July 2 election, saying Calderon received 235,000 more votes than the closest candidate. The decision by Mexico’s highest electoral authority is irrevocable and cannot be appealed. The Supreme Court cannot, as in the United States, overturn a decision by the electoral magistrates. So that part of it is pretty much carved in stone. Felipe Calderon is Mexico’s president-elect.

But the rest of it is a little more complicated. The tribunal agreed after the election to review the accusations of fraud made by Lopez Obrador, who was demanding a total recount. It found enough evidence to merit at least a partial recount of 9 percent of the vote. The magistrates found there had been some irregularities in the electoral process, but not enough to merit annulling the election. Besides, some of those irregularities ended up favoring Calderon.

The tribunal also gave some merit to Lopez Obrador’s complaint about the integrity of the campaign itself, stating in its final judgment that the private sector had meddled at least somewhat in the campaign. The magistrates said that political ads run on the radio and television between March and May “violated the principle of fairness in electoral campaigns.” It did not, however, go past a reprimand.

Although President Vicente Fox enjoys a healthy 71 percent popularity rating -- one of the highest in the hemisphere for a head of state -- he didn’t come out with a clean slate in the tribunal’s final judgment. The magistrates wrote that Fox put the validation of the presidential election at risk with comments made to foreign journalists, virtually declaring his party’s candidate the winner before the court’s decision.

None of this tough talk, however, was enough to move Lopez Obrador and his followers from their defiant position. Among other things, the former Mexico City mayor accused members of the electoral tribunal of not having the “dignity to act as freely.” He asked his followers not to recognize the declared winner, who, in his words, “lacks legitimacy.”

In a speech in the main plaza in downtown Mexico City, Lopez Obrador reiterated his proposal to let his followers decide in what they call a “National Democratic Convention,” to be held Sept. 16 (Mexican Independence Day), whether or not to elect him as head of an alternative government. And finally, he asked his supporters to continue what he described as “a revolution of conscience” with civil disobedience. Since the election, thousands have held marches and protests, and camped out in the main plaza and major avenues of the city. His support, however, has been dwindling. Polls show that seven out of 10 Mexicans believe he should accept his defeat and stop the protests and
campouts.

Calderon began his first night as president-elect thanking his supporters and reaching out to his foes. He called on all parties to work together for the benefit of the country and vowed to implement part of his opponent’s social agenda. The conservative politician will have an uphill battle. His party does not have a majority in Congress, and 35.8 percent of the vote does not exactly give him a strong mandate. Let’s hope Calderon has better political skills than his predecessor and is able to unite all the political forces.

Yes, Mexico has a new head of state, but the electoral debacle has not come to an end. And all can expect to have in Lopez Obrador a formidable opposition leader for the next six years.