The prayer vigil was held this morning in front of the Election Commission in Manila. National elections scheduled for 10 May might fail if electronic voting machines are not secure. Demonstrators accuse the government of trying to benefit from the situation to stay in power.

Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) – This morning, more than 300 people, including Christian and Muslim religious leaders as well as activists, students and members of various civil society groups, took part in a prayer rally in front of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila, to express their concern for next month’s elections.

On 14 April, Pacific Strategies & Assessments (PSA), a leading business risk consultancy, released a report, listing all the risks associated with electronic voting, including the lack of controls over voting machines by independent agencies and the use of registration memories that are highly vulnerable to cloning. In addition, only 70 per cent of polling stations have phones and computers that can send secured voting results. There is no certainty of protection for the 50 million ballots that could be cast.

One of the rally organisers, Mgr Oscar Cruz, retired archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, said that the prayer vigil was meant to tell the election commission and others who want the automated elections to fail that people are watching and are ready to act if necessary.

Demonstrators believe that President Arroyo and her administration want to take advantage of the situation to rig the election in order to stay in power.

For organisers, the march is a symbolic attempt to tear down “walls” that could prevent the country from having credible, honest, and peaceful elections.

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