Most Chinese developers posted strong growth in apartmentsales during first half, thanks to government support measuresand hopes that China's economy will be among the first torecover. The developer said it sold 1.6 million square metres ofapartments during the six-month period, about 70 percent of itsannual target. HONG KONG, July 6 (Reuters) - Chinese property developerAgile Property (3383.HK) said apartment sales for the first halfof 2009 totalled 10.3 billion yuan ($1.51 billion), representing64 percent of its annual sales target. (0100 GMT on Monday).THE VOTERSAbout 77 million people have the voting card credential needed to cast a ballot.

Between 30 percent and 40 percent are expected to vote.(Compiled by Jason Lange and Miguel Angel Gutierrez, Editing by Stacey Joyce) World Mexico. Electoral officials expect preliminary counts from about 40 percent of polling stations by midnight (0500 GMT on Monday).TV exit polls for the congressional contests are expected at 8 p.m. Queretaro and San Luis Potosi are currently governed by the PAN and the rest by the PRI.MECHANICSVoting began at 8 a.m. (1300 GMT) and the last polling stations close 12 hours later in the far west of the country, which is two hours behind Mexico City.The first official results from the Federal Electoral Institute will be released at 8 p.m (0100 GMT on Monday). The center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, is seen coming in a distant third.GOVERNORSVoters will also elect governors in the states of Campeche, Colima, Queretaro, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi and Sonora. The other 200 are selected by parties, which win seats based on their share of the total vote.The opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, is seen leaping into first place from third, replacing President Felipe Calderon's conservative National Action Party, or PAN, as the biggest force in the lower house.Most opinion polls have shown the PRI ahead of the PAN in recent days by around 5 percentage points.The centrist PRI currently holds 106 seats, while the PAN has 206. But few see such a reform possible in his second half-term.(Compiled by Catherine Bremer in Mexico City, Editing by Sandra Maler) World Mexico.

(Reuters) - Mexico will elect a new lower house of Congress, six state governors and hundreds of mayors in mid-term elections on Sunday. World  |  MexicoPresident Felipe Calderon's party is seen heading for defeat, hurting his ability to push economic reforms through Congress.Here are some facts about the election:CONGRESSVoters will choose the 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house Three hundred are elected directly by voters. But the proposals were often watered down by the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.* A former energy minister, Calderon had hoped to overhaul the state-run energy sector to open the door to some foreign investment, possibly through strategic alliances with state oil monopoly Pemex, to reverse declining oil output. His crackdown, using thousands of troops, has put a string of traffickers behind bars but cartel turf wars still kill hundreds of people each month.* The Mexican president was the first foreign leader that Barack Obama met after winning the U.S presidential election last year. They discussed border security, immigration, the NAFTA trade pact and Mexico's drug war at talks in Washington in January.* Calderon has pleased foreign investors by pushing tentative energy, tax, pension, justice and security reforms through Congress, despite the PAN's lack of a majority in the lower house.