MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican electoral authorities say they are abandoning plans to destroy ballots from the hotly disputed 2006 presidential election after a U.N. human rights commission asked the government to hold off.

The president of Mexico’s Federal Electoral Institute says storing the ballots has cost Mexico about $8.7 million over the last six years. But Leonardo Valdes said Wednesday that Mexico will heed the request and continue to hold the ballots at a warehouse until all concerns are resolved.

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