Coalition against election fraud makes last ditch appeal to Toronto Consulate for accreditation of poll watchers
Coalition against election fraud makes last ditch appeal to Toronto Consulate for accreditation of poll watchers
From left: Jesson Reyes, Migrante Canada Coordinator, Jesson Reyes, Migrante Canada Coordinator, Pinoy Radyo commentator/host Joey Abrenilla and Consul General Rosalita S. Prospero Rosalita Prospero
PCG Toronto says public welcome to witness vote, counting processes
By Veronica C. Silva
A newly formed coalition in Toronto rallying against election fraud recently appealed to the Philippine Consulate to help facilitate the accreditation of poll watchers.
Representatives of Koalisyon Kontra Dayaan met with Philippine Consul General on Saturday, May 6, to submit the coalition’s appeal letter after several attempts to seek accreditation have not borne fruit yet.
The coalition was formed only last week after several supporters of Philippine political parties and candidates had realized that no one among them have been accredited as poll watchers in the ongoing month-long overseas absentee voting (OAV). The voting in Toronto ends early morning of May 9, the day of national elections in the Philippines.
Jesson Reyes, Migrante Canada Coordinator, told Consul General Rosalita S. Prospero that the fact that there’s no accredited poll watcher in the Toronto polling precinct is a concern because the Toronto consulate jurisdiction has the largest number of registered voters.
“And the whole idea of the coalition is to make sure that there’s going to be honest elections,” Reyes also told Consul General Prospero.
There are almost 35,000 registered overseas absentee voters in the Toronto consulate jurisdiction, which includes Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatoon, at least for this year’s OAV.
The Consulate confirmed that as of Friday, May 6, no poll watcher for the Toronto polling has been accredited, but the public is nonetheless welcome to observe the election process, particularly the batch feeding of ballots to the vote counting machines.
Consul General Prospero met with representatives of the coalition on Saturday afternoon to personally receive the letter of appeal.
The Philippine consulate in Toronto also said that it is possible that that there are no accredited poll watchers because no list of watchers was sent by deadline or the watcher appointed for accreditation is disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Still, Consul General Prospero told coalition representatives last May 6 that her office continues to follow up with Comelec in Manila.
But in a press conference last May 5 at the launch of the coalition, supporters of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte said they submitted their list last March, way before the deadline, which was April 4.
In a statement, the Philippine Consulate General Toronto said “despite there being no accredited watcher for any party or candidate, we have encouraged those allied with parties or candidates to become observers throughout the election process.”
Consul General Prospero told coalition representatives: “Kaisa ninyo kami sa paghahangad na itong election ay maging (we’re one with you in aiming for) peaceful orderly and credible elections.”
But coalition representatives said the observer status is not enough.
“Nakakabahala na walang accredited poll watcher sa Toronto. Althought puede tayo mag-observe at tumingin, being a certified poll watcher, di tayo puede mag reklamo. So ito ang very alarming na nangyayari dito sa Toronto(The fact that there’s no accredited poll watcher here in Toronto is very alarming. Even though we’re allowed to watch and observe the election process, as a non-accredited poll watcher, we cannot file a complaint),” said Joey Abrenilla, member, Koalisyon Kontra Dayaan 2016.
As of May 6, Consul General Prospero said voter turnout was at 22.51 per cent. Already, this is relatively higher than the 2013 mid-term elections.
Prospero said personal voting onsite and hand delivery of ballots are only up to 5 a.m. local time on Monday, May 9. However, they are still waiting for ballots coming in through mail by 12 noon ET. Feeding of ballots into vote counting machines to get election results will start as soon as these mailed-in ballots have been delivered and verified with the certified list of registered voters, she said.
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