NOW that the partners in a consortium that bagged the P11.3-billion poll automation contract have seemingly reconciled, Malacañang urged its critics Saturday to stop their speculations on poll fraud in next year's election.

The public, said Deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo, should trust the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which is doing all it can to ensure clean elections.

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"The criticisms against Malacañang must end. What we need now is for us to work together and trust the institutions, and be vigilant," she said in a radio interview Saturday.

For its part, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is happy that efforts for automated vote counting in the 2010 elections is finally back on track.

CBCP spokesman Monsignor Pedro Quitorio III said with the snag apparently ironed out, the Comelec should now double its efforts to make sure the election is credible.

"We are happy with the development," Quitorio said in an article posted Friday night on the CBCP website.

"How we wish that, with the very little time left, those concerned will now start working double time for a clean election which is what everybody is expecting with full automation," he added.

Prospects of an automated election hit a snag earlier this week after the consortium that bagged the P11.3-billion contract for automated polls threatened to implode.

But on Friday, Smartmatic and its Filipino partner, Total Information Management (TIM), ironed out their differences following a three-hour meeting at the Comelec.

Malacañang meanwhile promised to support and respect whatever the poll body decides in resolving the automation of the 2010 polls.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remains confident in the ability of the Comelec to resolve the current issue on the poll automation. (JMR/Sunnex)