(The 2010 presidential candidates, minus Erap Estrada and Acosta. Image source: http://www.asiasociety.org/.)
"The skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches, as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found” --- Miguel de Unamuno. That being said, here are nine reasons for democracy to fail:
1. Lack of voting machines. Some precincts share only a single PCOS machine (clustered precincts). If by any chance the unit breaks the local election there will be deadlocked.
2. Dubious voters. Last week Smartmatic reported 17 ghost precincts and a 79% increase in voter population in ARMM, Malfeasance Capital of the Philippines. It was there PGMA allegedly rigged the 2004 elections with the aid of former COMELEC official Virgilio Garcillano. Maguindanao, a region in ARMM, is also such place for the politically-motivated Ampatuan Massacre to occur.
3. Incompetent operators. During a dry-run of the voting process, several media men cited some misses in the operating procedure of the PCOS machine. When the USB was inserted, particularly, the operators did not inform the voting public and the routine went on unbeknown. It is alarming, some of them thought, because it only takes 3 seconds to insert a USB. If the operators don't announce the switch, it could be an opportune moment for cheating and the public won't even know.
4. Power shortage. There may be an increasing insistence on the side of government --- and its overly-trusting supporters --- that power rotations will not affect the electoral process, but it doesn't help with the paranoia one bit. Note that power companies keep on reiterating their dependence on natural events. This can doubly act as an alibi for who can blame CEPALCO, for example, if there's just too less water running in Maria Cristina?
5. Easy hack. The COMELEC software system isn't really what you would consider a prime technology. In fact, many computer specialists already express their concern over its vulnerability to programming vandals.
6. Corrupt COMELEC officials. Even before the election, questionable spendings are already plaguing the COMELEC camp. But these are not just ordinary men with the usual bribes, mind you; these are big-wigs with access to a multi-billion government funding. Remember the ballot folders (secrecy folders) which cost 380 pesos each?
7. No parallel voting. Ironically, those who are against the idea fear it would only cause confusion: "what if the results from the automated poll won't match the manual count?" Well, that's simple: the automated poll failed and cheating occurred. Still, COMELEC slammed parallel voting irregardless.
8. Defective equipments/ballots. On countless occasions the PCOS machine have proved its liabilities. Fact: when your ballot gets even the slightest ink stain or simply defective from production, no dice, the machine will reject it. Will your votes be counted? Maybe. The operators will take your defective ballot and place it inside a [mystery] "folder" where it will be "investigated" afterward. Will you ever get to see your ballot again? COMELEC can't answer.
9. "Hello Garci Boys". The same people who worked close with the disgraced Virgilio Garcillano during the 2004 election fraud still control much of Mindanao today, a region which by itself has 10 million voters. Save Lintang Bedol --- who has gone into hiding --- the rest of the shady "Hello Garci Boys" are proud and happy as Regional Election Directors and Provincial Election Supervisors.
1. Lack of voting machines. Some precincts share only a single PCOS machine (clustered precincts). If by any chance the unit breaks the local election there will be deadlocked.
2. Dubious voters. Last week Smartmatic reported 17 ghost precincts and a 79% increase in voter population in ARMM, Malfeasance Capital of the Philippines. It was there PGMA allegedly rigged the 2004 elections with the aid of former COMELEC official Virgilio Garcillano. Maguindanao, a region in ARMM, is also such place for the politically-motivated Ampatuan Massacre to occur.
3. Incompetent operators. During a dry-run of the voting process, several media men cited some misses in the operating procedure of the PCOS machine. When the USB was inserted, particularly, the operators did not inform the voting public and the routine went on unbeknown. It is alarming, some of them thought, because it only takes 3 seconds to insert a USB. If the operators don't announce the switch, it could be an opportune moment for cheating and the public won't even know.
4. Power shortage. There may be an increasing insistence on the side of government --- and its overly-trusting supporters --- that power rotations will not affect the electoral process, but it doesn't help with the paranoia one bit. Note that power companies keep on reiterating their dependence on natural events. This can doubly act as an alibi for who can blame CEPALCO, for example, if there's just too less water running in Maria Cristina?
5. Easy hack. The COMELEC software system isn't really what you would consider a prime technology. In fact, many computer specialists already express their concern over its vulnerability to programming vandals.
6. Corrupt COMELEC officials. Even before the election, questionable spendings are already plaguing the COMELEC camp. But these are not just ordinary men with the usual bribes, mind you; these are big-wigs with access to a multi-billion government funding. Remember the ballot folders (secrecy folders) which cost 380 pesos each?
7. No parallel voting. Ironically, those who are against the idea fear it would only cause confusion: "what if the results from the automated poll won't match the manual count?" Well, that's simple: the automated poll failed and cheating occurred. Still, COMELEC slammed parallel voting irregardless.
8. Defective equipments/ballots. On countless occasions the PCOS machine have proved its liabilities. Fact: when your ballot gets even the slightest ink stain or simply defective from production, no dice, the machine will reject it. Will your votes be counted? Maybe. The operators will take your defective ballot and place it inside a [mystery] "folder" where it will be "investigated" afterward. Will you ever get to see your ballot again? COMELEC can't answer.
9. "Hello Garci Boys". The same people who worked close with the disgraced Virgilio Garcillano during the 2004 election fraud still control much of Mindanao today, a region which by itself has 10 million voters. Save Lintang Bedol --- who has gone into hiding --- the rest of the shady "Hello Garci Boys" are proud and happy as Regional Election Directors and Provincial Election Supervisors.
The issue here is not pessimism, it's organization. 4 days before election and still COMELEC is facing issues with it's procedures. Given that they actually had 6 years to prepare for this single event, of course the public will be worried. They're not really what you might consider a beacon of honesty are they? (See: Hello Garci scandal). To be fair nonetheless, COMELEC did lay out contingency tactics (See: Comelec lays out plans in case of poll disruptions) so that when the house does come burning down we'll know who to blame.
Source:glennpaoloagoopioblogspotcom
Source:glennpaoloagoopioblogspotcom
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