RP vote was flawed but credible, says Arroyo<\/p>\n
Mynardo Macaraig, Agence France-Presse\/Manila<\/p>\n
Philippines President Gloria Arroyo on Thursday conceded there
\nwere flaws in this week's elections she is projected to win, but
\nsaid the problems were isolated and warned the opposition against
\nstirring up trouble.<\/p>\n
Reacting to criticism by international observers on the level
\nof violence in the campaign that claimed more than 100 lives,
\nArroyo said the bloodshed was \"relatively isolated and has not
\naffected the generally peaceful and credible character of the
\npolls.\"<\/p>\n
She acknowledged there were problems in Monday's vote, which
\nexit polls predict she would win by a comfortable margin of three
\nmillion votes over main rival and movie-star Fernando Poe.<\/p>\n
\"It is sad to note that many of our people and their
\nleaders ... have engaged in the use of force to get their way,\"
\nshe said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Arroyo also called for modernization of the electoral process
\nto speed up the count \"and remove the tensions that contribute to
\nproblems of peace and order.\"<\/p>\n
Poe and other opposition candidates have charged that they had
\nbeen cheated in the elections and that the government was using
\nthe media and unofficial surveys and vote counts to put out
\nmisleading results to make it look like Arroyo was already the
\nwinner.<\/p>\n
Results of the manual vote count are expected to take weeks
\nbut an exit poll by the independent Social Weather Stations group
\npredicted Arroyo would win 41 percent of the vote compared with
\n32 percent for Poe.<\/p>\n
Arroyo spokesman Ignacio Bunye denied the government was
\ntrying to convince the public Arroyo had already beaten Poe,
\ntelling reporters, \"nobody's saying anybody has won.\"<\/p>\n
A government sanctioned \"quick count\" by the independent
\nwatchdog body, the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections,
\nsaid that as of 0100 GMT (8 a.m. in Jakarta) on Wednesday, with
\nless than 6 percent of the votes counted, Poe was slightly ahead
\nwith 692,499 votes to Arroyo's 675,439 votes.<\/p>\n
Opposition leaders say their followers are gathering
\naffidavits from people who were not allowed to vote, to be used
\nin filing election protests.<\/p>\n
Deposed president Joseph Estrada, who had backed Poe, urged
\nopposition supporters to take to the streets.<\/p>\n
\"They're stealing the victory from FPJ (Poe's initials). It's
\nabout time that people held protests in the streets to denounce
\nmassive cheating,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Estrada, a former movie star, is in detention on corruption
\ncharges after being deposed by a military-backed uprising in
\nJanuary 2001 that allowed then-vice-president Arroyo to take the
\npresidency.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Poe supporters massed in Manila's financial
\ndistrict on Tuesday to denounce alleged cheating but the protest
\nended peacefully.<\/p>\n
Bunye said Manila would exercise \"maximum tolerance against
\nprotest actions,\" but also warned the government would \"apply the
\nfull force of the law against those who undermine our electoral
\nprocesses or the political order.\"<\/p>\n
Even before the vote count is completed, Arroyo announced she
\nwould meet with her cabinet on Friday to discuss how to implement
\nthe campaign promises she made before the election.<\/p>\n
\"It is obviously to condition the public that she is winning
\nbut we have to wait for the result,\" said opposition spokesman
\nRodolfo Reyes.<\/p>\n
Monday's presidential, legislative and local elections have
\nbeen marred by numerous complaints that many people were left off
\nthe voters' list or could not find their voting precincts.<\/p>\n
There have also been scattered reports of violence during the
\ncampaign. The military released figures Thursday showing 141
\npeople were killed and 192 wounded in election-related violence
\nsince December, mostly by communist insurgents and private armed
\ngangs of political warlords.<\/p>\n
Mary Carol Jennings, an American election observer, condemned
\n\"the cheating ... the armed men using intimidation (and) the
\nlaxity with which the national and local (Commission on
\nElections) officials handle such an important national function.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rp-vote-was-flawed-but-credible-says-arroyo-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}