Federal Electoral Tribunal

Federal Electoral Tribunal

The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (Spanish: Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación, or TEPJF) is a venue within the judiciary of Mexico that specialises in electoral matters. Among its functions are resolving disputes arising within federal elections and certifying the validity of those elections, including those of the President of the Republic. (Responsibility for declaring a candidate the winner in presidential elections previously fell on the Chamber of Deputies.)

It comprises a permanent seven-member Superior Chamber (Sala Superior), located in the Federal District, and five Regional Chambers (Salas Regionales), one in each of the circumscriptions into which the country is divided for purposes of organising congressional elections. These Regional Chambers comprise three judges each, and are temporary in nature, sitting only during those years in which federal elections are held, and are based in the cities of Guadalajara, Monterrey, Xalapa, Mexico City, and Toluca.

There were two direct precursors of the TEPJF:

• The Electoral Disputes Tribunal (Tribunal de lo Contencioso Electoral, TCE), an administrative (not judicial) body, that was in existence from 1986 to 1989.
• The Federal Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Federal Electoral, TRIFE), created by means of a series of constitutional amendments enacted in 1990, the same reforms whereby the Federal Electoral Institute was established. This tribunal was superseded by the current Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary in 1996.

The TEPJF is frequently referred to in the media by the acronym of its predecessor, the TRIFE.

The seven magistrates who currently sit in the Superior Chamber are:

• Leonel Castillo González (president)
• Eloy Fuentes Cerda
• José Alejandro Luna Ramos
• Alfonsina Berta Navarro Hidalgo
• J. Fernando Ojesto Martínez Porcayo
• J. de Jesús Orozco Henríquez
• Mauro Miguel Reyes Zapata