It is but right for the Makabayan Coalition to condemn the fraud-tainted results of the 2025 elections and demand for transparency and accountability in the vote count, repeating as it did the irregularities that marred the 2022 presidential elections, when millions of votes were dumped even before majority of polling precincts closed.
Aside from the prolonged campaign of red-tagging and disinformation against the Makabayan Coalition and the Bayan Muna partylist, the much-touted South Korean Miru Systems, which controlled the automated election system, failed to reflect the actual votes and provided the basis for massive fraud and disenfranchisement.
Makabayan Coalition cited the following incidents conducive to perpetrating systemic fraud: The software updates for the automated counting machines (ACMs) were not publicly disclosed, tested, assessed and approved by stakeholders, raising serious questions about the changes in the software that challenge the integrity of voting results. Second is the strange occurrence of “overvotes,” with 3.3 million alleged “overvotes” in the partylist race and 1.3 million overvotes for the senatorial race. These are not isolated incidents or minor errors that could be brushed aside as they point to massive disenfranchisement of voters by the dubious ACMS.
Third, the many double-count errors and sudden “correction” of the tally in the public servers indicate the possibility that artificial intelligence (AI) was at work to tweak the canvassed votes. Persistent red-tagging and repression against progressive candidates and their campaigners in many communities controlled by the military, paramilitary units and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), as well as scare tactics to prevent voters from casting their votes for Bayan Muna and Makabayan Coalition candidates showed that state instrumentalities played a sinister role in jawboning voters and committing state-sponsored election fraud nationwide. The proliferation of political dynasties and vested interests including fake partylists engaged in vote-buying, overspending and flaunting of election laws point to the fact that the elections are anything but clean and honest.
Fourth, the resolution of the thousands of complaints against red-tagging and political repression during the campaign period and holding accountable the perpetrators, especially those belonging to government. Fifth, the resolution of complaints regarding vote-buying and an inquiry into the massive overspending committed by senatorial candidates as well as the resolution of cases involving fake partylist groups such as Duterte Youth. Sixth, the junking of the automated election system (AES) and a shift to a hybrid system that allows for the manual counting of votes at the precinct level while allowing the use of electronic means for canvassing.
Based on the foregoing, Makabayan Coalition said it will continue to question the election results and fight for transparency and accountability in the 2025 polls. Thus, the Coalition calls for the following: An audit and manual counting of so-called “overvotes” as the machines registered as “overvotes” many valid votes for partylists and senators. The magnitude of the “overvotes” shows us the ACMs cannot be relied on to accurately count votes. Comelec demurred in explaining why valid votes were being counted as “overvotes.” The valid votes that were read as “overvotes” should be counted and shown in the results. Second, an audit of the software used for the ACMs and canvassing servers and other third-party actors involved in the transmission of votes to the canvassing servers must be made. And, an audit of the so-called double-counting and “corrections” made by the Comelec and the service provider during the initial tally of votes.
The Makabayan Coalition, Bayan Muna and other progressive partylists had been targeted for sustained attacks by the NTF-ELCAC and their subalterns using public funds through red-tagging, pamphleteering and outright terrorism but the Comelec failed to discipline these forces even as it was mandated to conduct a fair, honest and democratic election. Comelec looked the other way as rampant vote-buying was documented nationwide, down to the municipal level in Bicol, where bribery ranged from P1,000 to P15,000 per voter, and the four types of doleouts used by lawmakers and other politicians to buy votes were never stopped.
“The fight is not over by any means and we will pursue all available avenues to expose and oppose election fraud. We will continue to hold the Marcos regime and the Comelec responsible for the fraud-tainted results of the 2025 elections. We call on the people to remain vigilant and active in the continuing efforts for election transparency and accountability and against election fraud, political repression and voter disenfranchisement,” Makabayan Coalition concluded. (DIEGO MORRA)
