Enrique Pena Nieto was officially declared president-elect of Mexico by the electoral tribunal on Friday, Reuters reported. Pena Nieto was accused by his rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of laundering money and buying votes for the July election.
According to Reuters, Pena Nieto, 46, will now be able to focus on plans for economic reform to give a vital growth boost to Mexico's economy. Lopez Obrador, however, refused to accept the tribunal's decision and called for continued protest in Mexico City's main square on September 9.
"I cannot accept the tribunal's ruling, which has declared the presidential election valid," Lopez Obrador told Reuters. "Civil disobedience is an honorable duty when directed against the thieves of the hope and happiness of the people," he added.
A former mayor of Mexico City, Lopez Obrador accused Pena Nieto and his political party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), of buying 5 million votes using illegal funding and voter bribes, Reuters reported.
The dispute has caused Mexicans to take to the streets and to Twitter to denounce the newly elected president. Protests have erupted around the country, reminiscent of the 2006 protest following Lopez Obrador's narrow loss in the presidential election.
On Twitter, Lopez Obrador's supporters have used the hashtags #EPNPresidenteImpuesto and #YoSoy132 to garner support.
Tweets include: "@legorretalexa: Let everyone know, in Mexico there is no Democracy! #EPNPresidenteImpuesto" and "@taller2006: #EPNPresidenteImpuesto Enrique Pena Nieto nunca seras mi president no importa cuanto te costo la presidencia Mexico es aun mas grande." (#EPNPresidenteImpuesto Enrique Pena Nieto you will never be my president / it doesn't matter how much the presidency cost you/ Mexico is even bigger)
Journalist Jorge Ramos, from Univision, also took to Twitter to relay his message. Ramos tweeted, "@jorgeramosnews AMLO, sus seguidores y #YoSoy132 tienen el derecho-y hasta la obligacion- de no dejarse. Pero sin violencia. No cabe 1 muerto mas en Mexico." (AMLO, his supporters and #YoSoy132 have the right- and even the obligation- of defending themselves. But without violence. Mexico doesn't have room for 1 more dead.)
No word on when and if protests will continue as planned.