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Saturday, July 05, 2008
Poll watchdog gears up for August elections
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- The Citizens Coalition for Armm Electoral Reforms Inc., (Citizens Care), one of the accredited poll watchdogs in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Armm), is already preparing for a complete monitoring of the Armm elections this August 11.
Salic Ibrahim, Citizens Care chair, said they intend to closely watch the conduct of the political exercises, especially since this year's elections will showcase Comelec's poll automation. Ibrahim said they have enough manpower to perform such "huge yet challenging" task.
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To date, the Citizens Care has more than 1,500 barangay election gurus all over the region. Also, they recruited 93 volunteer municipal election "gurus" to act as election monitoring officers in each municipality.
The Citizens Care has also 30 partner organizations in the region, Ibrahim said.
Citizens Care is also the lead convener of the newly established Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for the upcoming Armm elections in August 2008.
Other participating groups include the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, Legal Network for Truthful Election, Bangsamoro Lawyers Network, Bangsamoro Women Solidarity Forum, and Federation of United Mindanawan Bangsamoro Women Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
"We intend to place poll volunteers in every precinct in each village all over Armm. This is to make sure the Armm elections would be monitored or closely watched by us," he said.
Since June this year, poll volunteers have undergone a series of training on poll automation and voters' education and conducted a number of mock elections.
Ibrahim said their hopes are high for fraud-free Armm polls this August.
The poll automation, he said, can reduce irregularities, especially in Armm areas where cases of electoral fraud are high.
Using computers, voters are assured their votes will be counted fast. Also, their right to choose their leaders is protected.
In Maguindanao, a direct recording electronic (DRE) will be installed by Smartmatic-Sahi Technologies, Inc.
In provinces of Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabungsuwan, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, an optical mark reader (OMR) technology will be provided by Avanti International Technologies Inc.
The DRE system uses touch-screen or touch-pad technology and is fully automated. The OMR technology requires voters to fill out a paper ballot that will be scanned by specially designed machines.
On August 11, about 1.61 million registered voters will flock to about 10,805 precincts in 113 towns and two cities or 2,470 barangays all over the region.
The C-Care is set to monitor elections in 93 towns and 2 cities and 1,565 barangays this August.
Ibrahim said the group would also create provincial election task groups that will coordinate on action points and key strategies in guarding the polls.
"Civil society and watchdog groups should have the muscle to guard the elections. We have to work together and get the numbers needed to completely monitor the elections," he added.
The C-Care, organized in 2005, is the only civil society organization in Armm that has devoted its efforts to electoral reforms. It has taken the initiative to mobilize electoral reform advocates in the region.
The group receives technical assistance from the International Foundation of Electoral System (IFES) and funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). (Malu C. Manar/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (July 5, 2008 issue)
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