Poll watchdog brings automation doubts to Comelec

Poll watchdog Kontra Daya on Wednesday went to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to express its doubts about the poll body’s ability to successfully implement fully automated elections in May. "We from the Kontra Daya campaign are writing you to express our urgent and serious concern over developments in the automated elections system. We hope that the Comelec can look into these issues as there are continuing fears of fraud and failure of elections," the watchdog said in a two-page letter. The group said it has doubts whether the poll body would be able to test all the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in 45 days, since the Comelec said it would need 300 people working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to achieve this. Kontra Daya likewise expressed its concern about difficulties in ballot feeding and results transmission in some areas. "We also would want to know when the Comelec will announce which areas will be subjected to manual elections because of the problems with connectivity," said the poll watchdog group. Moreover, the group questioned whether there would enough time for all voters to vote on election day, at the average ratio of 1,000 voters per precinct. The group thus recommended that there be another round of nationwide mock elections. "The next mock elections should simulate actual election day conditions, including having people go through the process of checking their names in the voters list of precinct. We would want to see mock elections that will employ a broad cross-section of society who have different levels of understanding of the automation process," it said. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, for his part, assured the group that everything is going well with the automation preparations. "There will be no failure of elections," he said. He also said that he will make sure that they take up Kontra Daya's concerns during the en banc meeting. Kontra Daya, which maintains a website, describes itself as a "multisectoral campaign alliance" working as an "independent election watchdog." It is led by a group of convenors that include Grace Poe, daughter of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. who was defeated by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the 2007 presidential elections, writer-actress Bibeth Orteza, and Dr. Giovanni Tapang of the scientists group Agham. —Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV