Akbayan statement on the No-El scheme and the failure of the PCOS Machines
WE IN AKBAYAN party-list join the Filipino people in their desire to see that their right to suffrage is fully exercised and as such, call on the Commission on Elections to push through with the May 10 elections as scheduled. The Commission on Elections must take all the necessary steps as well as pay close attention to the recommendations of all stakeholders that are willing to assist and support the credible conduct of the elections in the face of all the technical and legal deficiencies that threatens the success of the political process.
We strongly disagree with Atty. Romulo Macalintal’s call to postpone the May 10 elections for fifteen days. We believe the postponement of elections beyond May 10 gives Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the administration undue opportunities to manipulate the electoral process in order to secure their political interests. This will provide Mrs. Arroyo and her allies ample time to set into motion an entire scheme that will circumvent the people’s sovereign right to determine a new government. A 15-day delay will definitely compromise the integrity of the nation’s fragile democratic institutions.
In order to guarantee that the election results will reflect the real choices of the voting public, it is imperative that the COMELEC continue the testing of all PCOS machines using actual ballots, activate the digital signatures of each machine that will transmit election results, and make provisions for 100% parallel manual counting of all the votes that will be cast.
We call for 100% parallel manual count especially when the next five days would not be sufficient to ensure the smooth functioning of all PCOS machines and enable the security functions of the automated election system. Only a 100% parallel manual counting of all votes for all positions would be able to authenticate the election results and make the elections more credible.
Likewise, we call on the incoming government to make accountable all those responsible in the haphazard execution of the first ever nationwide automated elections.
Lastly, on Election Day, we call on the Filipino people to cast their votes and demand that their votes be counted accordingly. At the eleventh hour, only the people’s vigilance will protect their constitutionally-mandated right to suffrage and secure the success of our elections.
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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.
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