Observers appeal for fairness in Philippines count

Press, 11 February 1986, Page 10

Observers appeal for fairness in Philippines count

NZPA-AP Manila Official American observers yesterday made what they said was a lastminute plea for fairness in the Philippines Presidential election as charges of fraud mounted and Government workers claimed a Government tally was being falsified. •‘We are pleading, I think, in a last-minute situation,” said a United States Senator, Richard Lugar, who is co-chair-man of the 20-member group. Senator Lugar said the observers heard “serious charges” of election irregularities and warned that if the election proved fraudulent there would be "obviously serious” implications for United StatesPhilippine relations. As the delegation, dispatched by the United States President, Mr Ronald Reagan, left for the United States, about 200 pro-Govemment demonstrators chanted and flashed placards demanding that the observers and foreign journalists leave the Philippines. Thirty Government workers walked out of the

Commission on Elections (or COMELEC), claiming that the tallies were being falsified in favour of President Ferdinand Marcos against his opposition candidate, Mrs Corazon Aquino. "I think these are the most damning comments that I’ve ever heard and the most dramatic events that I’ve witnessed in the course of my being in the Philippines,” said an observer, United States Senator John Kerry, after the walkout. A second observer group, of 44 international experts, accused Mr Marcos’ backers of serious vote fraud.

United States policymakers believed that the key to a fair outcome was a plan for a quick count on election night by the National Movement for Free Elections ((NAMFREL), an independent citizens’ election-monitor-ing group. A quick count would not have given anyone much time to tamper with the votes.

But, there was no quick count. Hardly any votes reached the NAMFREL counting centre in the first critical 12 hours.

Yesterday, NAMFREL’s vote count showed Mrs Aquino ahead, but the Government Election Commission’s unofficial count — after indicating Mrs Aquino was ahead on Saturday — gave Mr Marcos a slight lead as more delayed votes poured in. Although Mrs Aquino claimed victory, United States observers and NAMFREL officials seemed certain Mr Marcos already had arranged a final outcome in his favour.

Senator Lugar was not alone among the observers in focusing on the slow-down as a sign of vote-rigging. Another observer, a United States House of Representatives member, Mr John Murtha, said: “Everywhere we go, there is a delay. It’s obvious the counting is being delayed for some reason.”

Senator John Kerry said: “It’s obvious to everyone in the world, something has gone fundamentally wrong with this election.” What went wrong, apparently, was that Mr Marcos was determined not to lose.