Chapter 4: Case Studies Related to Training of Arbiters in Election Complaints could be amended by the vote of two-thirds of Congress convened as an Electoral College. In 1993, two substantive constitutional amendments were implemented. First, TRIFE became “the highest judicial authority in electoral matters.” At the same time, legislation was passed eliminating the self-evaluation system that allowed the Electoral Colleges of the Congress to review elections. However, the mixed system was still in place for that year’s Presidential Election as the change had not yet been validated by the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of Congress). In 1996, as a result of a thorough constitutional reform, the Electoral Court of the Federal Judiciary (Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación, TEPJF) was created. Since then, its rulings on Congressional and Presidential election complaints are final and unappealable. The TEPJF is also empowered to solve controversies that may arise from the Presidential Election, to conduct the final vote tally, and to validate the election. Needless to say, the reforms had an enormous impact on Mexico’s electoral system. TEPJF is divided into a High Chamber and five Regional Chambers. The High Chamber is a permanent body located in Mexico City and is composed of seven Electoral Justices. Since 1996, the Justices have been proposed by the Supreme Court of Mexico and appointed by two-thirds of the Senate. Following the 2007 Constitutional Reform, Electoral Justices are designated for a nine-year period. The Chief Electoral Justice is elected among the members of the High Chamber for a period of four years and can be reelected for an additional term. The Regional Chambers are permanent electoral bodies located in the cities of Guadalajara, Monterrey, Xalapa, Mexico City, and Toluca. These cities represent the five constituencies into which the country is divided for electing members of congress under the proportional representation system. Each Regional Chamber is composed of three Electoral Justices, designated in the same manner as the Justices in the High Chamber. B. Present System of Electoral Complaints Adjudication Electoral complaints are managed at multiple levels. The TEPJF High Chamber is empowered to hear claims involving presidential, gubernatorial, and congressional elections (of members of congress elected by proportional 163