Thousands march to challenge poll results

Tens of thousands of people marched in Mexico's capital on Saturday night to protest against Enrique Peña Nieto's apparent win in the country's presidential election, accusing his party of buying votes.

The protesters were angered by allegations that Mr Peña Nieto's Institu- tional Revolutionary Party gave out bags of groceries, pre-paid gift cards and other goods to voters ahead of the 1 July election.

The students, unionists and leftists in the march carried signs reading, "Peña, how much did it cost to become President?" and "Mexico, you pawned your future for 500 pesos".

Mexico City officials put the size of the crowd that reached its central Zocalo plaza at 50,000.

Protesters carried signs in English, Japanese, French, German and other languages to call the attention of the international press.

Mr Peña Nieto, a youthful 45-year-old married to a soap opera star, won last Sunday's election by 6.6 percentage points, according to the official count, bringing the PRI back to power after 12 years in opposition.

AP