IBON Features—The initial astonishment with the speed of the election results was just as quickly replaced with doubts on the credibility of the May 2010 polls. Claims of electoral fraud and other irregularities continue to surface more than three weeks after the Philippines held its first ever automated national polls. Calls for an independent probe emerged even as the House committee on suffrage has already begun its inquiry.
In the eye of the storm aside from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is private contractor Smartmatic-TIM, which last year bagged the 2010 poll automation contract with the lowest bid of P7.2 billion. But as questions on the integrity of the Automated Election System (AES) technology provided by Smartmatic-TIM for the May 10 polls mount, less focus has been given on what exactly was the role played by the private consortium in the last elections. Continue reading
Analysis
