MANILA, Philippines – United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney said Thursday that Washington would like to see the conduct of fair, honest and peaceful elections with rapid results in the Philippines in May 2010, regardless of whether an automated or manual system of counting votes will be used.

Kenney said that while she was not aware of the intricate details of the automation proposal here, conducting the elections whether manually or electronically should not be a problem.

“Let me reflect on the United States because, as you all know, in the US every single district and area vote in different ways. Some are automated, some aren’t,” Kenney said in a radio interview over dzME.

“I think the point is not how, what automation is, or if it is automation. The point is to make sure the election and the results are conducted freely, fairly. You know, there is no hint of corruption,” she said.

According to Kenney, elections are a "great way of really knowing democracy."

“Lots of people have expressed their interest in running, a lot of variety of candidates, and we find that very energizing for our democracy,” she said.