ARMM voters not well-trained on voting machines--observers
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:55:00 08/10/2008
MANILA, Philippines--With less than 24 hours before the voting booths open, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) voters seemed less keen on participating in this year’s polls, despite the promise of pioneering the country’s first automated elections, according to a report by foreign observers.
Foreign election observers from the Asian Network for Free Elections (Anfrel) said the voters and the election supervisors in the ARMM, which has been set to test two automated election technologies on Monday, did not have enough training on how to use the machines.
In its pre-election report released on Sunday, Anfrel voiced doubts that the country’s first ever automated elections would be as successful as envisioned by the Comelec and its partners because of the lack of voter education on the electronic machines.
Maguindanao residents will use the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) system supplied by Smartmatic-Sahi Technologies Inc. They will input their votes using an electronic voting pad and touch-screen technology. Their votes are directly stored inside the machine.
Residents of Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi will use the Optical Mark Reader technology (OMR) by Avante International Technology Inc.
Voters from these areas will use a special ballot and will shade the oval space beside the name of their chosen candidates. The ballot will then be scanned and recorded in designated counting centers.
Anfrel, which has 22 members from various Asian countries scattered all over ARMM since last week, said the information on the new voting systems had yet to reach many areas in the region. Thus, even though the machines were novel, voters’ enthusiasm was “less” in this election than in previous exercises, the group said.
Politicians also campaigned less this time around so many voters, particularly in the outlying islands, had no idea on what the election would be for, Anfrel added.
A few weeks before the elections, the MILF, the government, and ARMM representatives called for the postponement of the polls to give way to the peace agreement, which sought to expand the current ARMM.
The agreement was supposed to be signed last week but the Supreme Court halted it upon the complaints of some local Mindanao executives on the lack of consultation with stakeholders.
The Commission on Elections said it had prepared to pilot test the electronic voting and counting machines in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao on Monday (Aug. 11).
Comelec officials said on Sunday all personnel and voting equipment were in place for the country’s first automated elections, where around 1.5 million registered ARMM voters were set to choose their new leaders using electronic means.
Their main worry, officials said, was the ongoing clashes between the military and the MILFt in North Cotabato, just beside Maguindanao, an ARMM area.
Comelec chairman Jose Melo expressed fears that the skirmishes could spill over to these border communities.
In an interview on Sunday, Melo said the poll body would be ready to evacuate its personnel in some Maguindanao towns bordering North Cotabato, if this were affected by the fighting.
“Everything is okay [in other provinces]. We are worried about Maguindanao because the MILF has not yet retreated from the occupied towns like Midsayap,” Melo said.
“Although the MILF is not disrupting the election preparations, we don’t know what’s going to happen. My instruction to the people there is to ensure their safety first. We are going to monitor things there until tomorrow and then we will decide if they should transfer,” he added.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they have been verifying reports that the MILF occupied some Maguindanao towns on Sunday.
He said the Comelec has been closely monitoring the situation to determine if there would be a need to postpone the elections or declare a failure of elections in some villages. He stressed that it was unlikely for Comelec to postpone the elections in the entire region on Monday.
Melo expected around 40 percent to 50 percent voters’ turnout on Monday because of the tensions in Mindanao. The poll chairman said they were also anticipating low voters’ turnout in the Maguindanao border towns.
However, in some areas, Melo said they were confident that ARMM residents would participate in the exercise because they were curious about the machines.
He urged ARMM residents to “go out and vote,” stressing that the results of the ARMM polls would help the Comelec determine the kind of technology to use in the 2010 national elections.
Incumbent ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan (Lakas-CMD) leads six other candidates for the gubernatorial post while four candidates are contesting the vice governor post.
On the other hand, 74 individuals will be looking to clinch one of the 24 seats available for the Regional Legislative Assembly.
The Comelec, together with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, have already identified 49 areas of immediate concern while another 887 villages are tagged as areas of concern.
Comelec said it deployed a total of 18,000 police and military personnel all over the region to secure the voters, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs), the voting machines and the whole area.
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