8 of 11 members of Mexico's Supreme Court to resign in protest of controversial judicial overhaul

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Eight justices of Mexico’s Supreme Court have said they will leave the court rather than stand for election as required by a controversial judicial overhaul passed last month.

Supreme Court President Norma Piña and seven others submitted letters Tuesday and Wednesday stating they would leave their posts rather than compete in judicial elections scheduled for next June.

The court’s three other justices have indicated they will compete in the elections. Previously, the Supreme Court’s justices were selected by the Senate.

Last month, Mexico’s Congress passed — and a majority of states ratified — then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s initiative to make all of the country’s judges subject to election.