Red alert amid fears of poll violence, fraud

Philippine political parties yesterday wound up activities on the last campaign day ahead of crucial elections, as security forces declared readiness amid fears of violence and fraud. "The police are on a much tighter alert," said presidential spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao, adding they had identified 400 to 500 areas of concern apart from 74 hotspots which include six provinces, six cities, 57 towns and five villages.

Up to 5,000 soldiers were placed under the command of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to handle hotspots. Six hundred soldiers and seven armoured personnel carriers were deployed in metro Manila.

Violence escalated yesterday with the death of seven and injury of 14 members of rival political families in the southern Philippines. A police count showed 60 people were killed and 112 others wounded in pre-election violence. Almost 20 of the fatalities were candidates.

"We are all ready and set for the May 14 elections," said Thompson Lantion, community relations chief of the Philippine National Police. Up to 5,000 soldiers were placed under the Comelec command for rapid deployment to violence-prone areas in six provinces, six cities, 57 towns and five villages where trouble is likely to occur.

Violence, which has already taken 53 lives in the runup to the polls, is a hallmark of Philippine politics, where political warlords and ruling clans maintain groups of heavily armed bodyguards.

Passions have been heightened by the polarisation of the country following Estrada's ouster, arrest and detention on corruption charges and the storming of the presidential palace by his supporters on May 1 in an alleged bid to topple Arroyo and install a junta.

"Elections have been violent seasons in this country," said political scientist Alex Magno of the University of the Philippines, warning of an alleged conspiracy to discredit the polls. "There is a desperate group lurking in the wings," he said.

With all surveys pointing to a decisive victory by administration candidates, "those on the verge of losing might have an interest in causing a failure of elections," he said. Vote-buying is a favourite tactic by politicians in a country where poverty is a key problem. News reports said a vote could be bought for up to P2,000 ($40), depending on the position.

Elections have also been prone to cheating, because votes are counted manually. Other forms of fraud range from the snatching of ballot boxes to the more sophisticated shaving off of votes from one candidate and counting them in favour of another, according to election monitors.