Ampatuan, Datumanong lead Maguindanao races

COTABATO CITY — Re-electionist Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan and former Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong, who vied for the congressional seat in the second district of Maguindanao, were both leading in the initial tabulation of election returns from across the province.

Citing initial results, Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas told reporters Ampatuan had 108,000 votes while his lone contender, outgoing Rep. Guimid Matalam, garnered 13,000 votes from at least 14 of Maguindanao’s 27 towns.

Unas said Datumanong was ahead by 60,000 votes against his rival, Mastor Salendab, who only had more than 4,000 votes in partial poll results from the different towns in the second district.

"President Arroyo also has more than a hundred thousand votes from the towns where we have gathered all of these partial, unofficial results," said Unas, head of the provincial government’s election monitoring unit based in Shariff Aguak town.

Unas said Ampatuan’s running mate, re-electionist Vice Gov. Datu Bimbo Sinsuat, was ahead by 70,000 votes against the opposition’s Marouph Candao who, he said, got more than 10,000 votes in the partial tally of election returns.

"We expect Gov. Ampatuan and Vice Gov. Sinsuat to be proclaimed elected governor and vice governor, respectively, in a matter of days," Unas said.

Datumanong earlier said he was confident of defeating Salendab by a wide margin as he counted on the support of all re-electionist mayors in the second district, a bailiwick of the Lakas-CMD (Christian-Muslim Democrats).

Unas said Ampatuan, in their tally, also fared neck-and-neck with Matalam in neighboring Montawal and Pagalungan, known hometowns of the Matalams.

Unas said in Montawal, Ampatuan obtained 6,200 votes in partial results, compared with Matalam’s 2,500 votes.

In Pagalungan, partial results showed Matalam with 4,300 votes, defeating Ampatuan by almost 3,000 votes.

"The May 10 elections in the province were very peaceful. It was unprecedented. We ought to thank all sectors in the province, including the police and the military and the Comelec (Commission on Elections), for having succeeded in the peaceful conduct of elections in the province," Unas said.