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PH gov’t sued in UN rights body

By MIKHA FLORES ELECTION watchdogs and civil society organizations filed a complaint against the Commission on Elections before an international human rights body on Friday for allegedly compromising the May 13 elections and violating their right to vote. The complainants from civil society groups with lead counsel Harry Roque wear black armbands to protest what

By verafiles

May 3, 2013

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By MIKHA FLORES

ELECTION watchdogs and civil society organizations filed a complaint against the Commission on Elections before an international human rights body on Friday for allegedly compromising the May 13 elections and violating their right to vote.

The complainants from civil society groups with lead counsel Harry Roque wear black armbands to protest what they say is Comelec's violation of their right to vote. Photo by MARIO IGNACIO IV
The complainants from civil society groups with lead counsel Harry Roque wear black armbands to protest what they say is Comelec’s violation of their right to vote. Photo by MARIO IGNACIO IV

A group of 33 individuals from civil society groups filed a 52-page complaint before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) questioning the Comelec’s decisions which they said cast doubts on the credibility of the upcoming automated polls.

They said the Philippine government violated and continues to violate their right to vote freely when they gave complete control of the technical aspects of the automated election system (AES) to Smartmatic, the supplier of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the 2013 elections.

The move compromised the “secrecy, security and validity” of their votes, they added.

Read More in VOTE 2013

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