With 95% of ERs in, Lim's reelection bid in Manila seems certain

Victory seemed inevitable for incumbent Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim as he pulls ahead over his rivals in the mayoral race after the canvassing of 95.21 percent of the election returns (ERs) Monday night. Lim garnered 387,048 votes so far, based on the transmitted ERs to the Manila Board of Canvassers (MBOC), who said he was leading with votes from 1,372 clustered precincts. His closest rivals — former city mayor and former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Jose "Lito" Atienza got 176,786 votes and former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Avelino Razon got 82,910 votes. Lim thanked Manila residents who voted for him and his running mate Isko Moreno in Monday’s elections. "Salamat sa lahat ng bumoto at naniwala sa amin at sa mga di pumayag na umiral ang kasinungalan (Thanks to those who for voted us and believed in us. Thank your for letting that truth to prevail over lies), he said. Lim and his running mate Moreno were both clad in casual clothes when they arrived at the Ninoy Aquino (formerly Rizal) stadium Monday midnight, amid the cheers of his supporters. Earlier, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced it would likely proclaim the winners the moment the members of the local board of canvassers get the results of 90-percent of ERs. Proclamation urged After 95 percent of the ERs were tallied, Lim’s lawyers MBOC to inquire why it has not yet proclaimed the incumbent mayor and Moreno as winners, as it was statistically improbable for his closest rivals Atienza (who vowed to Lim in the 2007 mayoral elections) and Razon to win the race. MBOC chairman lawyer Jovencio Balanquit explained the board could not proclaim the winners until the entire results of the transmitted ERs are printed and that printing cannot be done until all ERs are in. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV