Critics to Comelec: Do you know where you’re going?

Does the Commission on Elections know where the May elections are heading? Critics of the Comelec have warned that the automated polls—only less than three months away—could end up like a “train-wreck" because of numerous delays and setbacks in the poll body’s preparations. Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello said time is running out for Comelec to make the voters trust the automated elections system. “We honestly do not know where the Comelec is going to. Voter education is lagging. Fear of participating in the polls is widespread among those unfamiliar with the voting system and the Comelec is unable to assuage people’s fears," Bello told reporters at a press conference in Quezon City on Thursday. Seven out of 10 Filipinos say they have no or little knowledge about the Philippines’ first nationwide automated elections, according to a recent Pulse Asia survey. Delays in the delivery of thousands of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, the incomplete training of the precinct-level boards of election inspectors, and the pending review of the source code by individual stakeholders are complicating the Comelec’s problem, according to Bello. “The election is a train-wreck waiting to happen," he said. ‘Fossilized’ website Akbayan legal counsel Ibarra Gutierrez claims that the Comelec’s “fossilized" website is itself an indication that the poll body “is at a loss" on how to smoothen out possible chokepoints in the voting system. The content of the website has not been updated, according to Gutierrez. He said the site should have contained a timeline for automated election preparations and a comprehensive continuity plan. In recent days, the Comelec website has either been very slow to load or ends the connection attempt with this error message: “ERROR: The requested URL could not be retrieved; Connection failed; (110) Connection timed out." GMANews.TV tried to visit the site several times on Thursday afternoon, but encountered the same error message until posting time. Before it’s too late, the Comelec should provide the public with “satisfactory" answers to the following questions, according to Akbayan: • What is the new overall schedule for all the 79 days left before the elections? • When will all the PCOS machines arrive and the programs for the machines be installed? • When will the nationwide teachers’ training commence and finish? • When will the Comelec start identifying all possible problematic scenarios for elections and plot out definite, feasible solutions? • What are the contingencies to the possible breakdown of PCOS machines? • What is the Plan B to PCOS machines that might be damaged during delivery to precincts? • How will we remedy the possible mix-up in the delivery of ballots, especially since there are places in the Philippines with similar names? • How will we ensure the people’s right to vote if their ballots are rejected by the machine and what are the resolution mechanisms? Earlier, on Wednesday, independent poll watchdog Kontra Daya went to the Comelec to express its "urgent and serious concern" about the poll body’s ability to successfully implement fully automated elections in May. Kontra Daya pointed out potential or actual problems in testing all the PCOS machines in 45 days, in ballot feeding and results transmission in some areas as seen in the mock polls, and the time available for all voters to vote on election day. (See: Poll watchdog brings automation doubts to Comelec) —ARCS/JV, GMANews.TV