Party list rep hits ‘secrecy,’ poll delays

MANILA, Philippines — The militant Makabayan bloc on Tuesday expressed “disgust and concern” over what it described as “unacceptable delay” in disclosing the results of the elections for party list representatives.

“We demand a full explanation from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Smartmatic. Otherwise, the credibility of this year’s elections will be in doubt,” said senatorial candidate and Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares.

‘Trending’ factor

Such “secrecy and delay” can be used as a window to manipulate the results of the elections, he added.

Colmenares also hit the “trending” factor, or early unofficial results that the poll body released while the elections were still ongoing.

“The minds of the public were conditioned when Comelec posted the initial 0.40 percent of the votes showing proadministration (candidates) leading. And then nothing else was shown for the next seven hours,” he said.

On Tuesday, members of Makabayan coalition staged a protest action at the Comelec central office in Intramuros, Manila, to condemn what they termed as the ongoing “electoral sabotage” that, they said, hounded Monday’s midterm elections.