[www-features] PROPOSAL: International Election Observers Recount Fraud, Violence at Polls

Tue Jun 1 00:26:55 PDT 2010

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Subtitle: PHILIPPINES ELECTIONS 2010

Image: http://subtextstylevintage.com/longline1.JPG

Abstract:  
Members of the People's International Observation Mission,  an independent and
non-partisan international observation team including 86 volunteers from 11 countries  witnessed widespread fraud, bribery,
violence and intimidation by state elements and private armies, extremely long
lines, confusion and disorganization--and millions of courageous individual
voters, who braved 110-degree heat, death threats, and 12-hour waiting times in
order to cast their votes in the Philippines' first electronic elections. 
Body:

On May 10, the Philippines participated in the country’s
first automated elections. The morning after the elections, as more information
was still surfacing on radio and television regarding the shooting deaths at
polling precincts in the areas of Cavite and Mindanao, the US embassy issued a
statement lauding the Philippine Government for “achieving another milestone in
their nation’s democratic history.” The US embassy sent 120 observers to
monitor the elections; did they observe what I did?
I was on the ground for the election as part of an
independent and non-partisan international observation team called the People’s
International Observation Mission. Our mission included 86 volunteers from 11
countries: academics, church workers and clergy, lawyers and human rights
advocates all bound to the declaration of principles outlined by the United
Nations for international election observation.  
Concerns over Privatization and Violence Leading Up to Elections

I felt a commitment to observe the elections as someone committed to
working for democracy in my own country. I remember The United States’ first
foray into automated voting in 2000 and the numerous concerns raised by IT
technicians, computer programmers and privacy advocates regarding the
vulnerability to fraud. Many raised questions about the privatization of a
major feature of the electoral process. In the Philippines, similar concerns of
transparency were raised regarding the testing of voting machines produced by the
multinational company Smartmatic. Just a few days before the slated May 10
elections, more than 76,000 memory chips from the voting machines were
recalled.
I was compelled to monitor the elections as a human rights
advocate. I have been deeply disturbed by the recent violence leading up to the
Philippine elections. The Ampatuan Massacre in Mindanao created shock waves
around the world as 57 unarmed civilians, many of them women, were ambushed and
gunned down in a caravan headed to file a bid for candidacy in a contested
race. Thirty of those murdered were journalists. According to Reporters Without
Borders, an international organization committed to freedom of the press, the
massacre marks the most loss of life for journalists in a single day.
Most importantly, I participated as an international
observer because I believe the ability of one to cast his or her vote freely
through a fair, transparent, and democratic process is a human right. I
observed many irregularities on May 10 that make me question that this human
right was upheld. 

Voter
Disenfranchisement, Faulty Automation and Violence
In Abra, one of the most militarized provinces of the
country, I witnessed voter disenfranchisement and intimidation by private
armies, the breakdown and overheating of machines that forced voters to wait in
lines for up to six hours in 100 degree heat. My colleagues conducted
interviews with voters who admitted to selling their vote for as small as 500
pesos (a little more than $11), or some who told of being pressured not to vote
at all. The lack of privacy was glaring as poll watchers representing the
different political parties often intervened, pointing at candidates’ names on
ballots and showing voters who to vote for. 
Our colleagues that observed elections in Mindanao were
caught in the middle of a gunfight in Lanao Del Sur, forced to hide face down
as armed men fired inside the polling precinct. They were able to capture the
harrowing event on video, you can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/user/kodaophil#p/u/4/yufgKrUwjas
By all international standards the violence and intimidation
surrounding the Philippine elections cannot be ignored. As those who believe to
work for democracy in our own country, we must challenge this level of violence and
intimidation abroad.