Philippine election tally going slowly

By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
Published: May 27, 2007

MANILA: Two weeks after Filipinos went to the polls to elect members of Congress and local officials, millions of votes remain uncounted while allegations of widespread fraud favoring the political allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo continue to surface, election officials and opposition members say.

On Saturday, sporadic violence and charges of fraud marred special elections that were held in 13 towns in a southern province, where the initial vote had been declared flawed. The votes from that province, Lanao del Sur, totaling nearly 100,000, are enough to determine the outcome of the race for the 12 Senate seats, officials said. The special elections were called because of the high level of violence and vote fraud that occurred in the region during the midterm elections.
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