11 May 2004 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert today said that international election observers have painted a generally positive picture of the 10 May elections. “We have opened our electoral process to the scrutiny of the international community and many have heeded our call.  I have met several observers and they have noticed the improvements in our elections. There are certainly problems, but even the election observers believe that these problems are not insurmountable,” Secretary Albert said.

She added that while she had met with many observers and discussed the  progress of the elections, they have asked that no specific details be revealed, at least until their final reports are issued. She said that one of the observer groups that she had met was the monitoring team from Malaysia, headed by the Hon. Dato Abdullah Zawawi Mohamad, Deputy Chairman of Malaysia’s Election Commission and composed of eight members.

“The Malaysian team shared with me their insights on our elections and made comparisons with their own elections.  They painted a positive picture of the 10 May elections and said that there will always be problems in such a large and complicated exercise but that all things considered, the Philippines and its people are to be congratulated,” the Secretary said.
 
The Secretary said that there was a common thread in the comments of the international observers.  “This common thread is that difficulties and problems were certainly present during the elections.  But these were attributable to a need to improve systems and processes, the need for more resources and to utilize modern technology.  They said that these problems do not affect the credibility of elections,” Secretary Albert said.

The Secretary also met with Australian international monitors led by Ms. Melba Marginson, Commissioner of the Center for Philippine Concerns.  Mrs. Marginson noted that there were some instances of violence but that the elections were generally peaceful and in many instances had a “fiesta-like atmosphere.”

“Mrs. Marginson is an immigrant from the Philippines who believes in Philippine democracy.  She and here team are here to observe and give their comments.  They have noted some problems and I told her that we will always be glad to listen to all fair and objective comments,” the Secretary said. The Secretary said that she expects the final report of the different international election monitors to mention problems. “But I am confident that these reports will be fair and objective.  I am also confident that these reports will note the improvements that we were able to introduce into our electoral process, as well as the impressive spirit of the Filipino in the exercise of their right to choose their leaders,” the Secretary said. END.