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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Poll chief junks partial proclamation of Senate race winners
MANILA -- With still about six million votes to count, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said a partial proclamation of senatorial race winners is impossible.
Comelec Chairman Benjamina Abalos said there are still 15 provinces and cities whose certificates of canvass (COCs) have not been tallied and the votes from those places can affect the standings of the senatorial candidates.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
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"How can we make a partial proclamation when there are still almost six million votes to be reckoned with?" Abalos told reporters in a press briefing Monday at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
The COCs from Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, and Surigao del Norte have not yet arrived at the PICC. These places have a total of 1,877,662 registered voters.
Also, special elections were conducted in 13 towns in Lanao del Sur and in some barangays in Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Sulu only on Saturday. It would be a few days more before these places are able to submit their tallies.
Aside from the unaccounted COCs in Lanao, there are also some eight areas where the canvassing of COCs had been deferred for various reasons. They are Maguindanao, Sulu, Caloocan City, Taguig-Pateros, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Muntinlupa City. A total of 3,361,931 voters are registered in those places.
The COC from Davao City, where there are 750,109 registered voters, is set for canvassing Monday.
A partial proclamation this week would only happen if the COCs from these areas that he mentioned would arrive on time, Abalos added.
Abalos said election results in Mindanao remain crucial to the present ranking of candidates since there are more than 300,000 votes "to reckon with" in Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan alone.
Genuine Opposition (GO) spokesman Adel Tamano said the GO has not yet decided if it would pus through with the filing of a petition calling for special elections in Maguindanao where massive fraud allegedly took place.
Tamano was asked to appear at the PICC by the Comelec to explain his reported pronouncement that the poll body is delaying the canvassing to give room for vote padding and vote shaving in favor of Team Unity (TU). (MSN/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (May 29, 2007 issue)
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