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Press Releases
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GWEN PIMENTEL INSISTS ON PARALLEL COUNT
Nacionalista Party senatorial candidate Gwen Pimentel today said that a parallel manual counting of votes in the May 10 elections to “ensure the accuracy of the canvassing and prevent possible outbursts of people power in the aftermath of the elections” may be necessary in areas where the PCOS malfunction.
Gwen Pimentel said, “Considering what has unquestioningly happened -- the malfunctioning of some PCOS machines -- and the various other defects discovered in the poll automation system, our people’s confidence in the system has already been shaken.”
Gwen Pimentel declared that if the Commission on Elections should find it impossible to conduct a manual count nationwide, “then the Comelec can do it in strategic places, such as metropolitan and urban areas in key geographical regions or locations, in order to serve as a guide as to the true trend of the elections.”
Gwen Pimentel warned that if the people should lose credibility in the May 10 elections, especially in the background of the suspected massive cheating in the 2004 presidential elections, “we cannot guarantee that our people will take it placidly.”
She acknowledged that the Comelec and the Smartmatic operators of the PCOS machines have assured the public that they would be able to correct the situation in the three days remaining before election day.
But she asked, “What assurance do we have that they will be able to do this, considering the hugeness of the problem, covering the correction of 76,000 compact flash cards, and their safe and timely distribution throughout the archipelago?”
Gwen Pimentel stressed that “the assurances are not enough. Many other assurances in the past have been found wanting. We want action, and a credible alternative or safeguard should the automation fail.” Top |