| source : staff | |||
| Wednesday, 06 June 2007 20:06 | |||
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Canvassing of votes from Maguindanao has been stalled for several times after election officers failed to present documents proving the authenticity of copies of certificates of canvass from the province. Allegations flew fast that elections in Maguindanao were marred by fraud, after it was reported that the province delivered a 12-0 sweep for the senatorial candidates of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo under the Team Unity ticket. "And therefore ang NBC (National Board of Canvassers) will declare the failure of elections in the area, the Comelec will declare failure of elections... Of course failure of elections, pagka failure of elections there would be a special elections," he said. Show proof Abalos said that if the candidates fail to present documents proving they won in the Maguindanao polls, a resolution may soon be prepared by the Comelec to formalize the declaration of such failure and the setting of another schedule for special elections in the province. The Comelec made the decision on Maguindanao in an executive session presided by Abalos and attended by the poll body's commissioners at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, where senatorial winners will be proclaimed at 7 p.m. Abalos said the poll body will issue an order requiring all the proclaimed winners in the Maguindanao polls to appear at the Comelec office in Manila on Monday at 10 a.m. He said the winning candidates will be asked to explain and show cause why their proclamation should not be set aside with the declaration of failure of elections in the province - considering that no document was presented to the Comelec to show that they won in the polls. "As of today there is a failure of elections but it can be overturned upon presentation of documents," Abalos told reporters. He added: "It is up for them to prove or disprove this (failure of elections). Sa ngayon kasi ang hawak naming record ay wala," he said. He said among those who will be called by the Comelec are governor-elect Andal Ampatuan representative-elect Simeon Datumanong and all winning mayors of Maguindanao municipalities. Special elections Abalos made clear that if the winning candidates would be able to present elections documents proving that they indeed won legally in the polls, the Comelec could overturn its decision on declaring failure of elections in the province. "We wanted to hear them first... Hindi pwedeng senatorial lang (ang botohan)," he said. However, Abalos said that if the candidates fail to prove that they indeed won in the Maguindanao polls, the Comelec might schedule the special elections on June 20. The poll body needs at least a week to compose the Board of Election Inspectors, print the necessary documents and other preparations for the special elections, according to the Comelec chief. Abalos said he did not see any reason why the winning local officials would oppose the conduct of special elections as they ran unopposed. "Kahit isang boto lang ang makuha nila eh pwede na silang ma-proclaim," he said. Abalos' statement came after the Special Board of Elections (SBOC) terminated the canvassing of votes from Maguindanao the same day. The board said no supporting election documents were transmitted to them by election officers from the said province. The SBOC made the ruling after the Comelec's Records and Statistics Division issued a certification that no provincial statement of votes, municipal certificate of canvass and statement of votes, summary of votes, among other election documents, were transmitted to them. Missing poll officer Last Monday, the board said they did not receive documents to back up the certificate of canvass in Maguindanao that were supposed to be submitted by provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol. Bedol had been reportedly missing during the canvassing and hearing of the poll body on the alleged fraudulent outcome of elections in Maguindanao. He was reportedly seen often at the Comelec office in Manila, while poll body officials are busy canvassing election results at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. Meanwhile, a television station reported on Wednesday that Genuine Opposition candidate Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III will question at the Supreme Court the decision of the Comelec to declare a failure of elections in Maguindanao. Pimentel was quoted as saying that a failure of elections could only be declared if there was no election that transpired. But in the case of Maguindanao, Pimentel said elections did happen and thus it cannot be declared a failure. - GMANews.TV
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