SPECIAL RELEASE: Perspective on Philippines’ ongoing elections
MANILA – (NOYNOY AQUINO MEDIA BUREAU) - Mr. Amando Doronila, a highly regarded political observer and regular columnist in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the country’s most widely circulated broadsheet in English, has this to say today (10 May 2010) in his regular column, “Analysis”:
“For the first time since the establishment of the Philippine democratic republic in 1946, Filipinos go to the polls on Monday faced with two daunting tasks to reinvigorate their faltering and unstable democracy.
“The first task is to elect a new president to replace the most reviled administration since the hated 14-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos that was overthrown by the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.
“The second is precedent-setting. Some 41 million people (equivalent to an 80-percent turnout of the 50.7 million registered voters) will cast their ballots for the first time in a fully automated general election. The new voting system replaces the manual method in use since the first national parliamentary election for the Philippine Assembly in 1907.
“In Monday’s elections, expectations of change and leadership renewal are high. But doubts lingered up to last week over whether flaws in the final test runs would be corrected in time for Monday’s polls to ensure that the machines would deliver results that would inspire public confidence in the integrity of the new vote-counting system and give legitimacy to the next administration.
“On the eve of the polls, Filipinos felt they were participating in a transcendental moment of renovating the voting system so that official results could be published within a week of the elections.
“Under the manual system, it took 43 days before official results were announced. The automated system is intended to minimize opportunities for cheating, alteration and rigging of results, during the period when results are not officially confirmed.
“Within days of the close of polling stations on Monday, we shall know whether this historic and hugely expensive renovation is a success or a colossal snafu.
“Some critics have expressed fears that if results are not known within a few days, this would provoke protests over failed elections from an outraged public feeling they have been cheated of their right to vote.
“This year’s elections are unique because they offer an opportunity to correct the distortions of our electoral system since the 1986 People Power Revolution.
“Edsa I replaced Marcos through street action, not through election. Edsa II deposed President Joseph Estrada also through street action in 2001.
“Fidel Ramos, Estrada’s predecessor became president through the ballot, restoring election as the normal process of change. The 2004 presidential election was won by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo amid charges of rigging of results. The charges have undermined the legitimacy of her presidency for six years.
Correcting distortions
“This is the chance to correct these distortions and infuse legitimacy into elections as a mechanism of renewal and leadership change.
“This is why, at the close of the campaign period on Saturday, Filipinos appeared more concerned about the success of the automated system than about who will be the next elected president in a free and honest balloting.”
Contact Details
———————————–
Alma Tuason
Foreign Media Liaison Group
Noynoy Aquino Media Bureau
Phone: 1.888.736.0655 (US Phone)
Email: almatuason@yahoo.com
May 10th, 2010 at 2:39 am
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