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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The 2022 elections

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The 2022 elections“It will decide our fate with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

 

 

The election period is under way. As early as now, candidates are going around the country and meeting with various groups ahead of the official campaign period. As I mentioned before, the coming elections will determine the country’s fate in its fight against COVID-19. The next leaders will have to address the increasingly challenging post-pandemic scenario. They should have the ability to decide how and where to steer the country—hopefully, toward healing and recovery on all levels.

Just as the 2020 US national elections significantly affected their political, economic, and social climate amid the pandemic, the 2022 Philippine elections will most likely do the same. The road to recovery has already been started by the current administration, but saving our pandemic-ravaged economy and restoring the pre-COVID growth rates are a massive undertaking. Moreover, the unprecedented challenges of this public health crisis remain to be addressed, along with social inequities made more glaring by the pandemic.

Hence, it is important that the 2022 elections be secure and transparent amid the health and safety restrictions and automated system. Let me emphasize that Republic Act No. 9369, the very law that provides for automated elections, mandates that the process be “transparent and credible” and that the results be “fast, accurate and reflective of the genuine will of the people.”

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With this, the Commission on Elections has already begun its dry runs. The agency has also inked contracts for the automated elections. Smartmatic has once again won the bidding for the provision of the software, refurbishment of vote-counting machines, and transmission. However, if we recall, since the first automated polls in 2010, Smartmatic has been called out several times for reports of malfunctioning machines, transmission delays, rejected ballots, programming errors, and allegations of fraud.

In the minority during the last Congress, I called for the investigation of Smartmatic for the use of its vote-counting machines that were marred with irregularities. Now, should Smartmatic continue servicing our automated elections, they must swear to be willing to be put under scrutiny, cooperate fully with investigations, and be properly and justly sanctioned for any election irregularity, if found committed.

Let me reiterate my call for transparency in the 2022 elections. In compliance with its mandate, I urge the Comelec to institute measures, aligned with health restrictions, that will ensure the transparency and credibility of the upcoming elections. As we have learned in 2010, Comelec must ensure that transparency servers receive timely results as the Comelec servers. With almost 65 million voters registered, the poll body, by now, should plan for a smoother transmission of votes to prevent system glitches. Election precincts must be secured to prevent disorder in the conduct of this crucial election. As there will be a limited number of people allowed in precincts, Comelec should ensure that poll watchers are well-represented. Moreover, random manual audits, a safeguard provided for by law, should be done immediately in public to confirm the integrity of ballots.

As the old saying goes, “democracy is not a spectator sport.” As election activities intensify, we must stay vigilant on the preparations. Taking advantage of this pandemic may be tempting. It is imperative that we seek accountability for any election irregularity or fraud that defies public trust and defeats the very essence of democracy. The 2022 polls are pivotal, to say the least, and so the government’s duty to preserve its integrity cannot be overemphasized.

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