Lanao polls 'still the same'

MULTI-SECTORAL People's International Observers Mission (PIOM) denounced Monday's elections in Lanao del Sur as "a miscarriage of democracy," retaining the province's tag as being the poll cheating capital of the country.

This, despite the "congratulatory" messages issued by the United States and the European Union for having a "smooth election."

Click here for Election 2010 updates

The mission delegates from Canada, United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines said they were dismayed to still find many cases of the old and anachronistic tricks of violence, chaos and fraud amid a supposedly modern election with an automated vote-counting process.

They said in Lanao del Sur, the inefficiency, incompetence and corruption of the electoral process by the Commission on Elections and Smartmatic-TIM, exacerbated by local clan rivalries and economic disparities, resulted in a miscarriage of democracy.

"As election observers, we were impressed by the people's tremendous desire to exercise their right to vote, some walking or driving long distances and waiting for hours for their turn to cast their ballots. The Filipino people are clearly passionate about their right to vote," the group said.

However, they expressed deep disappointment on the way elections were conducted in Lanao del Sur after witnessing widespread violations of election laws and procedures.

"Lanao del Sur could be called so far as a 'democratic disaster area'," said Roger Scott Powers, a delegate from the USA, in a press conference held Wednesday at Philtown Hotel in Cagayan de Oro.

The mission, dubbed as Kapamagompong 2010, were able to observe the elections in eight municipalities of Lanao del Sur - Sultan Dumalongong, Masiu, Lumbayanague, Butig, Ramain, Taraka, Camalig and Tugaya.

The election observers noted late opening of precincts, disorganized polling centers, dysfunctional Precinct Count Optical Scan(PCOS) machines, electioneering within the precincts, partisans coaching voters whom to vote for and even filling the ballots themselves, and that "ballot secrecy was often compromised."

Vote-buying was very rampant, even done inside the precincts, they said.

The mission delegates also raised concern over the integrity of the voters' lists given that children were allowed to vote.

Adelaida Ditucalan, mission team leader, said one of the delegates was able to interview four minors who claimed that they, along with 52 other boys, had been paid to vote.

Poll violence

Poll watchdog Citizens Coalition for Electoral Reform (C-Care) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, meanwhile, reported that the May 10 polls in Lanao del Sur resulted to six deaths, two in Tugaya and four in Kapai towns.

Ditucalan also said the delegates observed sheer incompetence in the discharge by the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) of their duties like "only limited use of indelible ink" and rough handling of the ballots like folding and stuffing these into the ballot boxes, "potentially making them unreadable by the PCOS machines later."

The delegates noted that poor elections management may partly stem from the fact that the provincial election supervisor was replaced just one week ahead of the polls.

The mission also took pleasure at the radically quicker way of counting and canvassing of the votes, and faster mode of knowing the results because of the automated election system (AES) adopted for the polls.

Before the press conference started, the mission showed an exclusive video about the gunfight in Tugaya between supporters of mayoralty candidates Guroalim Alimatar and Mangawan Balindong Pacalna; the malfunctioning of PCOS machines, the BEIs and poll watchers manipulating the voters, vote buying and last minute campaign.

Automation vs manual polls

Lawyer Gill Boehringer, a delegate from Australia, said he did not notice much difference with the automated elections now than during the manual count.

Kyle Hamilton, a delegate from Canada, said: "I couldn't visualize a single PCOS machine in the municipality."

"It was anything but free and fair," added Jacques Morial, a delegate from the USA.

Despite the depressing images and situations shown in Lanao del Sur, Dr. Joyce Ann Mercer still saw a glimmer of hope in the elections.

"I saw an old woman on a cane, being assisted by her old husband. While everyone rushed to the opposite direction from the gunfire, they continued to walk to the polls, determined to vote. Her husband was obviously protecting her from getting hurt from all the commotion," she said.

Ditucalan said a study should be conducted in Lanao del Sur to explain the irregular and ironic practices of the people during elections.

"The lawyers will say there is a breakdown of law. The government officials will say it too, as with the police. But no one, no one will make a public admission about it," she added.

The mission made the rounds in Lanao del Sur from May 9 to 11.

Ditucalan said a more comprehensive and detailed report of their observations would be presented in Manila, along with the reports of other PIOM teams that observed the elections in Abra, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Iloilo, Davao City and Caraga. (With Alamira Alonto and Sarah Jane Ditucalan/MSU-Marawi Interns)