Malfunctions, poll violence on eve of elections

Delayed flash cards, malfunctioning vote-counting machines and sporadic election-related violence marked 11th hour preparations of the Commission on Elections for the country's first ever nationwide automated election on May 10.

Comelec and poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM said all but 2% of voting areas nationwide are fully prepared for Monday's poll. More than 50 million voters are expected to troop to 76,340 polling precincts nationwide and cast their votes for 17,888 elective positions.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said 2% of more than 75,000 clustered precincts in the country will experience delays in the delivery of compact flash cards due to limited transportation. Among the areas that will receive the delayed flash cards are parts of Northern Samar; Tineg, Abra and other remote areas with limited transportation.

The poll body earlier ordered a nationwide recall of all 76,000-plus flash cards for the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines after a configuration glitch caused the machines to make tabulation errors during the final testing and sealing of the machines last Monday. Smartmatic-TIM later sent out newly reformatted flash cards for all the machines starting Thursday.

Aside from the flash cards, Comelec said a new problem surfaced during the final testing and sealing of PCOS machines in Nueva Vizcaya on Sunday. Melo said I-button keys, which provide power to the PCOS machines, malfunctioned and Comelec will soon replace them.

As of Sunday noon, 94% of PCOS machines have arrived in polling precincts. Of that number, 70% to 75% have undergone final testing and sealing.

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said up to 85% of the nation's 50,723,734 registered voters could turn up for Monday's election due to heightened interest in the automated election.

A total of 17,888 elective positions are up for grabs in the May 10 polls, including one president, one vice president, 12 senators, 222 members of the House of Representatives, 80 governors, 80 governors, 762 provincial board members, 120 city mayors, 120 city vice mayors, 1,514 municipal mayors, 1,514 vice mayors, 1,346 city councilors, and 12,116 municipal councilors.

Also to be contested by 187 partylist groups are some 45 available seats in the Lower House.

Poll violence increases

Five people were shot dead on Sunday in two remote parts of the country involving gunmen loyal to local candidates, while communist guerrillas also destroyed five-vote counting machines, authorities said.

The build-up to the elections has been typically tumultuous for one of Asia's most free-wheeling democracies, with dozens of people killed, ferocious mudslinging and dark rumors of illegal power grabs. At least 29 other people have been killed in political violence, including the victims of Sunday's violence, according to police figures.

The military and police, which have deployed tens of thousands of personnel to protect polling stations, insisted Monday's elections were expected to proceed without major unrest. "We expect some violent incidents here and there (but) we are prepared for the election. All systems are go," national police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina told reporters.