The IFE said in a news release that it made public the more than 500,000 tally sheets of the presidential and congressional races for the first time since the agency was formed in 1990 to "advance the path of transparency."

Millions of supporters of former Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador cried fraud and launched weeks-long protests demanding a recount of the 41.7 million votes cast in the election, which President Felipe Calderón won by less than 1 percent.

The top electoral court ruled against a full recount and ratified Calderón´s victory.

López Obrador has since declared himself Mexico´s "legitimate president" and set up a parallel government, designed to be a thorn in Calderón´s side for the next six years.

Both candidates asked the IFE to save the ballot boxes, but officials have declined, saying the law requires them to destroy the ballots. Officials, however, agreed last week to wait until all complaints about the elections have been reviewed before destroying the ballots.

On the Net: Federal Electoral Institute: www.ife.org.mx