Namfrel: Pandemic measures violated amid 83% voter turnout in Eleksyon 2022

Citizen election watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) on Monday said that the unprecedented 83% voter turnout in the 2022 polls overwhelmed many voting centers, resulting in the violation of COVID-19 protocols in many areas.

This observation is contained in the executive summary of Namfrel's Preliminary Report on the 2022 national elections.

"NAMFREL volunteers reported confusion among voters about queueing procedures outside voting centers, and crowding outside polling places," it said.

"A considerable percentage of voting centers observed had no Emergency Accessible Polling Places (EAPPs) for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, or heavily pregnant voters, or no Isolation Polling Places (IPPs) for voters with COVID-19 symptoms," it added.

Some Electoral Board (EBs) members, Namfrel said, also made minor mistakes in procedure, which appeared as if they lacked proper training.

Further, Namfrel volunteers also reported power failure in some areas, delaying the opening process.

Namfrel then noted that while voting generally went smoothly, hundreds of polling places still experienced many VCM-related and procedural issues.

"EBs in most of the polling stations concerned were able to fix the problem either on their own or by seeking technical assistance. Some machines that broke took too long to be replaced that NAMFREL volunteers reported that many voters were not able to vote until later in the night or even the next day," it said.

Vote secrecy, transmission

Namfrel said there were many instances which led to lapses in maintaining the secrecy of the ballot, which appear to stem from a lack of training or control on the part of the members of the EBs, or lack of knowledge on the part of voters and watchers regarding vote secrecy.

On the other hand, a few cases of the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or the voter’s receipt not matching the votes on the ballot were noted.

In addition, many voters also did not bother to even look at the contents of the VVPAT.

"In some polling places, the EBs did not print all copies of the election returns (ERs), and/or were not sure whom they were to give them to. The electronic transmission of results went smoothly in most polling places observed, with difficulties observed because of weak mobile connection," it said.

"The canvassing process in municipal/city canvassing centers was observed to have been smooth, systematic, and well-organized, but lacked enforcement and observance of COVID-19 protocols," it added.

The ER photos matched the electronically-transmitted ERs from the Transparency Media Server.

Namfrel cited that pockets of violence and intimidation marred an otherwise peaceful election day, particularly in Lanao del Sur when an election-related violence led to a failure of election in several barangays.

"NAMFREL is one with many of our fellow citizens who would like to see those responsible for vote-buying and for fraudsters to be thoroughly investigated and punished to set an example for anybody who would try to unduly influence people's minds and tamper with election results," it added. — BM, GMA News