MEXICO CITY, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A total of 19.7 million Mexicans began to vote on Sunday to elect 525 officials in six states, including the governors of Nayarit, Coahuila and the State of Mexico.
In the three other states of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala, voters will elect mayors, presidents of communities and local councils.
Over 30,000 polling stations opened this morning, with the National Electoral Institute (INE) surveying proceedings.
INE councillor, Marco Antonion Banos, told journalists that no severe problems had been detected in the states and that most of the polling stations were operating normally.
In the State of Mexico, where the gubernatorial race is being tightly contested, 100 percent of polling stations were under operation, according to local election authorities.
Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto used to be the governor of the State of Mexico from 2005-2011.
A very tight contest is going on between the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and the opposition National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), a new left-wing party.
The previous governor, Eruviel Avila, is seen as one of favorites to be nominated by PRI as its candidate for the 2018 presidential elections.
