Opposition warns of 'people power' revolt if their candidate loses
Opposition warns of 'people power' revolt if their candidate loses
Jim Gomez Associated Press/Manila
A new "people power" revolt will erupt if movie star Fernando Poe Jr. loses the presidential election through fraud, his party warned on Wednesday - fighting words in a nation where popular protests have knocked two leaders out of office.
Even though official results aren't expected for weeks, a confident President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called a Cabinet meeting to start delivering on her campaign promises.
Poe, an action film star and political novice, has taken an early lead over Arroyo in a "quick count" from Monday's election. But a respected independent pollster said Arroyo is likely to win by about 9 percentage points.
With both sides coming close to claiming victory after a bitterly fought contest, some kind of confrontation appeared likely.
Poe's camp has alleged widespread election irregularities, and he has urged his backers to "remain firm in our belief in the truth that victory is ours."
His KNP party said a repeat of "people power" - the mass protests that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and President Joseph Estrada in 2001 - "will surely come out" if the vote count is tainted with fraud.
It also claimed turnout was much lower than the 80 percent cited by the national Commission on Elections to pave the way for 2.4 million extra ballots that the KNP claims the government printed to facilitate fraud.
Arroyo spokesman Ignacio Bunye denied any cheating.
"We believe in clean, honest, orderly and peaceful elections," Bunye said. "Let us leave all electoral matters in the hands of the electoral body and let it finish its job."
The Philippine military has warned against any violence or massive protests, saying troops would use "necessary force" to maintain order if losing parties try to stir up trouble.
Arroyo took over for Estrada midway through his term but now is seeking her own six-year presidency.
A nationwide survey by independent pollster Social Weather Stations has projected that Arroyo will beat Poe by 41 percent to 32 percent. But a "quick count" by an officially sanctioned election watchdog group covering only 1.8 percent of the precincts showed Poe ahead 43.7 percent to 33.4 percent.
Three other presidential contenders were trailing badly as the Philippines waited for an official count expected to take weeks as workers tally tens of millions of paper ballots by hand. The elections also were for vice president, lawmakers and provincial and local officials.
Arroyo's office said she called a Cabinet meeting for Friday to begin "work on her governance agenda." That includes promises to create 1 million jobs over the next six years, as well as plans to provide power to more homes, loans to small businesses and cut-rate medicine for the poor.
Fresh election-related violence broke out in the north when gunmen attacked two town halls, killing a policeman and burning ballots in some of the worst incidents since Monday's polling, police said on Wednesday.
A powerful bomb exploded on Wednesday on southern Jolo island, killing at least one person and injuring 14 near a building where ballots were being counted. Men burned a municipal building on nearby Basilan island in an attack related to the elections. A vice mayoral candidate in southern Maguidanao's Parang town fatally shot an aunt of his rival, police said.
Filipinos voted on Monday without any major disruption, but at least 115 election-related deaths since December have made this campaign season deadlier than the 1998 presidential campaign - when 67 were killed.
The presidential race has been bitter and full of recriminations. Opposition leaders accuse Arroyo's side of corruption and plots to rig the vote count. Arroyo's camp denies the charges and has alleged that Poe's backers want to disrupt the results with violence.
The election in the poor Southeast Asian nation of 84 million people ends the constitutionally fragile period that followed the ouster of the last elected president, Estrada, on corruption charges that could carry the death penalty.