Mexican opposition elects new leader

Roberto Madrazo is expected to stand for president

Roberto Madrazo has won a close contest to lead Mexico's former ruling party amid complaints of fraud from all sides.

He will be sworn in on Monday as president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which governed Mexico for 71 years until 2000.

Unfortunately, the regressive and primitive sectors that are still part of the PRI, and are the cause of its disrepute, do not know how to respect the people's will and fraudulently distorted the vote

Beatrice Paredes, defeated candidate

Senator Humberto Roque, who supervised last week's elections for Mexico's largest party, said Mr Madrazo won with 1.52 million votes compared to 1.47 million votes for congresswoman Beatrice Paredes.

Ms Paredes disputed the results, accusing Mr Madrazo's supporters of fraud while her opponents claimed there were irregularities in areas where she once held power.

Mr Madrazo, the former governor of the oil-rich Tabasco state and son of a former PRI leader, is seen as a possible presidential contender in 2006. He first sought the nomination in 2000.

He has pledged to reform the PRI and make it more democratic after it lost its first presidential election ever to Vicente Fox of the National Action Party in July 2000.

Votes scrapped

Mr Madrazo, 49, says the PRI needs to restore the "social commitment" it abandoned in 1982 with a series of presidents who supported free-market reforms.

Vicente Fox ended the PRI's 71-year hold on the presidency

But he has been plagued by accusations of fraud since his first campaign for governor in 1994.

Ms Paredes said: "Unfortunately, the regressive and primitive sectors that are still part of the PRI, and are the cause of its disrepute, do not know how to respect the people's will and fraudulently distorted the vote. Enough of impunity!"

Party officials said they had reviewed the fraud complaints from both sides and scrapped a few thousand votes from both candidates cast during the 24 February election.

But Mr Madrazo still held a lead of nearly 52,000 votes - 1.7% of the almost 3 million valid votes cast.

The PRI has struggled to find a new direction and keep supporters since losing the presidency to Mr Fox, but it still has more state, local and federal posts than any other party in Mexico.