Mexico City: The Supreme Court of Mexico allowed the current President to hold a proposed referendum on the issue of prosecuting former presidents. Opponents had claimed that it violated that general rule that the decision to prosecute should be made by the prosecution and not by the voter or politician.
The court on Thursday ruled by a majority of six judges against five judges that the move to the referendum is constitutional but the wording of the question to be published in the ballot can be amended. On behalf of President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, the court was told that the question of referendum stated, “You agree or not that the concerned officer can investigate under the appropriate laws and procedures applicable and If appropriate, the punishment can be punished, which is a possible crime committed by former presidents. ”
Along with this, the names of six surviving former presidents have been given in the ballot published for the referendum. The sixth President is Luis Echeverria, who was the President of the country from 1970 to 1976 and is currently 98 years old. The student prosecution case was registered against him by the Special Prosecution Office in 1968, but in the year 2007 a tribunal acquitted him of the charges. Significantly, Lopez Obrador has proposed a referendum on 6 June 2021. Mid-term elections are to be held on the same day.
