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Monday, May 21, 2007
Palace hits poll fraud raps
MANILA -- Malacańang decried Sunday as “unfair” the allegations that the administration cheated in Maguindanao following a straight win by the Team Unity (TU) senatorial bets.
Presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio said questions about results of the elections in Maguindanao should be addressed through legal means.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
He said officials in-charge of the elections in the province should be given a chance to explain how the elections were conducted, “but in the proper legal forum.”
“In the meantime, it is unfair to conclude that the elections in Maguindanao were fraudulent just because the result was overwhelmingly in favor of TU,” he said.
Chief presidential legal counsel Sergio Antonio Apostol, who is also Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) spokesman, said the opposition should show concrete evidence and present their witnesses.
Apostol said the votes in Maguindanao should be counted first in favor of the TU candidates, and let the opposition file their electoral protest later.
But he expressed confidence that in the end, no anomaly or cheating will be discovered. “It is simply a case of command votes,” he said.
TU spokesman and Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano said the administration coalition also supports efforts to protect the integrity of the elections and urged the opposition to show political maturity.
“Let us all be circumspect when dealing with these allegations of cheating. Let us consider first the evidence to be presented before making any conclusion,” he said.
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said the public and foreign observers saw that the May 14 elections were generally peaceful although there were some problems that “could not be avoided”, considering the number of voters.
Saludo said complaints of anomalies are not the monopoly of the Genuine Opposition (GO) because TU also has its share of complaints.
He said electoral protests would be easily resolved now that the Supreme Court (SC) has set up special courts for that purpose. He said the SC targets the resolution of these cases within six months.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, for his part, said the administration is up to the challenge of election modernization.
Bunye, who is also the Presidential spokesman, said the country’s voting system has a host of other antiquated features that need to go. He said election day has always been fraught with the problems of missing names and disenfranchised voters, overstressed teachers, complaints of electoral fraud, and the ensuing slow count.
He said much can be solved by automation, although the passage of the poll automation law came in too late. He said three years is enough time for electoral reforms. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (May 21, 2007 issue)
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Votes ‘surpass voters in Lapu-lapu’