Fraud, violence cast shadow over Philippines elections
Five shot dead ahead of today's presidential and local polls
Manila: Fraud, violence, vote-buying and untested election machines threaten to derail the Philippines' presidential and local elections Monday.
"Cheating is a regular feature in the local polls. Voters believe that it could be done on a bigger scale at the national level," said Prospero de Vera, political analyst and professor at the University of the Philippines College of Public Administration.
A sort of reverse vote-buying has surfaced as candidates employ new tactics in quest of a win. They are paying supporters of rival candidates to abstain from voting, said de Vera, adding this fraud is hard to check.
Violence continued to rage yesterday with five people shot dead in two remote parts of the country involving gunmen loyal to local candidates, police officials said. Communist guerrillas also destroyed five vote-counting machines.
At a glance
- More than 50 million Filipinos are eligible to vote, including overseas workers. Officials expect a turnout of up to 80 per cent.
- There are nine contenders for the presidency and eight running for vice-president.
- More than 17,000 other posts are up for grabs: seats in both houses of parliament, provincial governors, mayors and town councillors.
- An automated count will be used for the first time.
— AFP
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