PHILIPPINES: POLITICS - Presidential hopefuls cast their votes but front-runner is delayed by machine mishap

Record ID: 643747

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: POLITICS - Presidential hopefuls cast their votes but front-runner is delayed by machine mishap
  • Date: 11th May 2010
  • Summary: TARLAC CITY, TARLAC PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES (MAY 10, 2010) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE OF FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BENIGNO "NOYNOY" AQUINO WALKING WITH BODYGUARDS AQUINO IN QUEUE WITH OTHER VOTERS
  • Embargoed: 26th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6OR5HT2HT5QZDOGLDBYBREXZS
  • Story Text: Leading candidates in the Philippine presidential race cast their votes on Monday (May 10), as an automated polling system was used for the first time in the fledgling democracy.
    Front-runner Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino was supposed to vote early morning, but was delayed by problems with the vote-counting machines at his precinct in Tarlac, north of Manila.
    Aquino was among voters forced to wait on a hot and humid day at several polling stations across the country as voting machines jammed and malfunctioned.
    He waited in line with many of his hometown supporters who said they will wait as long as needed so they could cast their votes for Aquino.
    Former president Joseph Estrada, ousted in 2002 and vying for a second chance at the job, voted in a precinct in San Juan, where he was mayor for 17 years.
    Estrada places second in the surveys, gaining ground in the weeks leading up to elections, thanks to his large base of supporters among urban and rural poor.
    He was accompanied to the precinct by his son, JV, who is running un-opposed for the district's congress seat.
    Another front-runner in the presidential race, Senator Manuel Villar, cast his ballot in his stronghold in Las Pinas (pron: las pin-yas), a suburb in southern Manila.
    Initially performing well on the surveys, Villar's popularity ratings dropped after allegations surfaced that he used his senate position to benefit his real estate business.
    He ran an expensive media campaign which was criticised for inaccurate claims about his impoverished childhood.
    "I did everything I could do. I believe we will be victorious. But whatever the outcome will be, we are ready," Villar told reporters, adding that canvassing of votes must be credible so that losing candidates can accept the results.
    The automated polling has proved an enormous challenge for election officials as it is implemented for the first time.
    The use of the new and untested system is a major risk, and has worried politicians and investors. Concerns intensified following the recall of more than 76,000 memory chips after a glitch was discovered last week.
    As voters and election workers grappled with the unfamiliar process, lines grew at polling stations and some people gave up after waiting for hours, local media reported.
    The elections commission appealed to voters for patience.
    "We advise the voters that you know, just be a bit patient, what's important is that you will be processed. You will be able to vote. Your vote will be counted," Elections Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said.
    Also in Tarlac province, presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro arrived at a polling station late morning, wearing his trademark green.
    Teodoro, the candidate endorsed by the administration, is placed fourth with single-digit levels of support in opinion polls, while five other candidates registered minimal support.
    Analysts have said that the former defence chief's association with the widely unfavored president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has caused public opinion to turn against him but Teodoro is very popular among among students and professionals.
    In Ilocos Norte province, former first lady of the deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the Philippines for two decades until 1986, is seeking a seat in the lower house of Congress. Her eldest daughter, Imee, is running for governor of the tobacco-producing province.
    Imelda is running to replace her son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in the lower house. Ferdinand Jr. is seeking a senate seat.
    Despite the Marcos's fall from grace in 1986 when Ferdinand Sr. was ousted by a popular revolt after two decades of mostly authoritarian rule, the family remains hugely popular and revered in their hometown.
    Some of Imelda's relatives are also seeking local positions in the central Philippine province of Leyte, where she won as a member of the 268-member House of Representatives in 1995 before launching a failed presidential bid in 1998.
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