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MEXCIO CITY, Mexico — Mexico will deploy around 27,000 soldiers and National Guard members to reinforce security during a general election this weekend, the government said Tuesday, following a wave of violence targeting local candidates.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that the aim of Sunday’s operation was for Mexicans to be able to vote “calmly, safely and without fear.”
READ: Disinformation war engulfs Mexican presidential race
The outgoing left-wing populist expressed confidence that the election would be “clean, free and, above all, peaceful.”
As well as voting for a new president, Mexicans will choose members of Congress, several state governors and myriad local officials.
In total, more than 20,000 positions are being contested.
Violence usually spikes in the run-up to Mexican elections and this year has been no exception.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said that 22 people running for local office had been murdered since the electoral process began last September.
Some non-governmental organizations have reported an even higher number, including Data Civica, which has counted 30 murders of local politicians.
READ: Insecurity: the big challenge for Mexico’s next president
According to an average of polls compiled by research firm Oraculus, ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum is the presidential front-runner with around 56 percent of voter support.
Opposition rival Xochitl Galvez is second with 33 percent, while long shot centrist Jorge Alvarez Maynez has 12 percent.
Criminal violence that has left more than 450,000 people dead and tens of thousands missing since 2006 will be among the major challenges facing the next president.