MEXICO CITY - Mexico's highest electoral authority on Tuesday formally blocked the gubernatorial candidacy of a ruling-party politician, backed by the country's president, for failing to submit pre-campaign spending reports.
Felix Salgado Macedonio, a former mayor of the popular tourist destination of Acapulco, had been running for governor of the state of Guerrero as a candidate of President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador's ruling MORENA party.
Lopez sparked controversy with his support for Salgado, who faces a rape allegation which he rejects, despite mounting pressure from feminist groups and members of the ruling MORENA party itself.
The president said calls for Salgado to step down were politically motivated.
Delgado wrote on Twitter that the ruling was a "clear blow to democracy."
On Tuesday, Mexico's electoral authority also withdrew a second MORENA candidate, Raúl Morón Orozco, who had been running for governor of the state of Michoacan.
(Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Raul Cortes Fernandez, writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Michael Perry)