Paglas: Declare elections a failure

An independent candidate, who lost to the administration’s gubernatorial bet Parouk Hussin in the Nov. 26 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), has filed a formal complaint asking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare the polls a failure.

This, as the Regional Board of Canvassers officially completed its tally of votes with Hussin garnering a total of 585,435, trouncing independent Datu Ibrahim Paglas III who got 237,868 votes.

Hussin’s running mate, Mahid Mutilan, on the other hand, got a total of 549,705 votes as against the 247,432 votes of his closest rival, Benjamin Loong.

In his complaint, Paglas alleged that 40 to 60 percent of the votes were padded, claiming there was only a 20-30 voter turnout in the ARMM polls, not 90 percent as Comelec chairman Alfredo Benipayo had reported.

Paglas alleged that the Comelec and Malacañang were involved in massive fraud. "We have evidence. We have witnesses — watchers and legal officers — who are willing to testify," he said.

Meanwhile, Paglas recalled that President Arroyo, in a meeting with him at Malacañang at 9 p.m. last Oct. 2, offered him a government post to convince him not to run against Hussin.