vote rigging

Ukraine is taking over at the helm of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. It's a controversial change, since this is the institution whose election observers said October's parliamentary polls were severely flawed. Arguments broke out in several districts over apparent attempts to fiddle the vote count; some will have to hold by-elections as a result. One party who did well in Kiev's 223 District, right-wing Svoboda, says it's been cheated out of its rightful victory.

Who will take over from Nicolas Sarkozy as chairman of the opposition UMP? At the time of writing, no one knows. Former Prime Minister François Fillon and General Secretary Jean-François Copé both claim victory after the party faithful voted on Sunday. Organisational glitches and allegations of ballot-rigging have turned the contest into a PR fiasco for the party. That's the focus for this look at the French press on Monday 19th November, 2012.

France 24’s Mexico correspondents continue their investigation into vote-buying in the country’s recent presidential elections. Meanwhile, even though Mitt Romney is under pressure over tax returns, he and the Republican Party remain firmly focused on overturning Obama's healthcare bill. Finally, we meet some of the 330,000 female victims of Peru’s forced sterilisation period.

Mexicans will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, local mayors, senators and members of Parliament. The presidential campaign has been running for three months and the fear of electoral fraud remains a constant worry. Although the electoral watchdog and thousands of observers will be present at the voting stations, it's very difficult to prevent irregularities in the polling process. The buying of votes, as well as the bribing of people with gifts, are old practices.