The Commission on Elections must ensure it has no biases in the 2022 elections or it risks eroding public confidence in its ability to run the polls fairly, an election watchdog said on Saturday.
The comment by Atty. Carlo Africa, policy consultant at Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) came after the Comelec's main office in Intramuros was lit in red and green earlier this week.
The Comelec explained it was a tenant in the building, under the Office of the President, who was responsible for the lighting.
Still, Africa said such an incident was not good for the Comelec's image.
"Even though. Dahil sa totoo nga tenant siya ng isang building na under the Office of the President, any sign of bias, mahuhulog ’yung confidence ng mga tao sa kanila to run the process fairly," Africa said.
"It would be really better for them to avoid any sign of bias [toward] any specific candidate."
LENTE warned that if there was low public confidence in the election, then the validity of the polls would also erode in the eyes of the people.
"If mangyayari po ito, it would lead to disaster," Africa said. "Kasi this could lead to conflicts within the country, in some cases it leads to civil war. So ’yan po ’yung napakahirap kung mababa ’yung accountability aspect natin, but you also have to couple that with transparency and inclusiveness."
"It is really within Comelec's responsibility to make sure that there is trust with the process and trust with them as [a] election managerial board."
https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/02/19/22/voter-trust-at-crux-of-lighting-at-comelec-hq-watchdog
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