MEXICO CITY, June 2, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Only around 13 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in Mexico's first poll for its judges, the election authority said Sunday.

Recent reforms made Mexico the world's only nation to select all of its judges by popular vote, a decision that sharply divided opinion.

Critics feared the elections would politicize the justice system and make it easier for criminals to influence the courts with threats and bribery.

Voters were tasked with choosing around 880 federal judges -- including Supreme Court justices -- as well as hundreds of local judges and magistrates. Another election for the remainder will be held in 2027.

Turnout hovered between just 12.57 and 13.32 percent of the nearly 100 million voters, National Electoral Institute head Guadalupe Taddei said in a televised statement.