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By Julmunir I. Jannaral, Correspondent
JOLO, Sulu: Opposition to the postponement of
elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
scheduled on August 11 has increased that it has now reached this
capital town of the province of Sulu, one of the provinces belonging
to the ARMM.
Tong Yusop, a campaign leader for a candidate
running for the regional legislative assembly (RLA) said they are
already in the final phase of the campaign and have exerted so much
time and effort when the news of postponement of the elections came
out.
Yusop said while the postponement is not yet
final they have to proceed with the campaign but were also slowing
down with their campaign expenses. He said they are opposed to the
postponement and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should follow
the mandate of the law and go ahead with the elections as scheduled.
“Let the democratic process in the Muslim
region go into action especially this is the first time that full
automation of vote counting is being implemented in all the ARMM
provinces,” Yusop said.
As this developed, President Gloria Arroyo’s
endorsement of the request of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
to defer the sixth ARMM polls has also drawn mixed reactions.
Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, who is
seeking another term in the scheduled ARMM elections, told The
Manila Times Friday that he supports the endorsement of President
Arroyo for the postponement, but he said it is all up for Congress
to pass the enabling law that would officially postpone the regional
elections.
A citizen’s election watchdog in the ARMM has
also come out strongly against the proposed postponement of the
August 11 electoral exercise in the region.
Citizens Care chaired by Salic Ibrahim even
appealed to the members of Congress to desist from acting on the
postponement.
“We appeal to the legislators not to postpone
the ARMM elections. The automated elections means a lot for the ARMM
and to the Filipino people as well. More than anything else, this is
our first step to reforming our election system,” Ibrahim said.
He argued that there have already been much
preparations being done for the forthcoming elections.
“We have already reached this far. We cannot
afford to postpone the elections in ARMM at this point. So much
preparation has been done both by government and the civil society
community,” said Ibrahim.
But the Citizens Care official clarified that
while they are objecting to the proposed re-setting of the
elections, he said his group strongly backs the Mindanao peace
process between the national government and the MILF.
House Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong, vice
president for Muslim Communities of the Lakas-Christian Muslim
Democrats, said in an earlier interview that postponing the
forthcoming August 11 elections ARMM “is impossible” without the
imprimatur of Congress.
Datumanong said by operation of law only
Congress through appropriate legislation can defer the political
exercise to a later date.
The Maguindanao congressman said the Comelec
might defer the elections in the case of an ARMM-wide grave natural
calamity, an all-out war, or failure of delivery of election
paraphernalia, which would make it impossible for voters to cast
their ballots.
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