Arroyo confident allies will win Philippine vote

Manila, May 13; Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo expressed confidence today that her allies would sweep congressional and local elections, although opinion polls point to the opposition tightening control of the Senate.

Campaigning ended at midnight for Monday's election. About 87,000 candidates contesting nearly 18,000 positions spent the last day in motorcades, rallies, prayers and last-minute efforts to win votes across the poor Southeast Asian country, known for its raucous campaigning and tall promises.

''The administration is looking forward to gaining a new majority in the Senate courtesy of a decisive Team Unity victory,'' Arroyo's political adviser, Gabriel Claudio, said in a statment today.

Team Unity is the name given to the administration's slate of 12 candidates for the Senate. Elections are also being held for the 275-seat House of Representatives, governorships of provinces, mayoralties and local council posts.

Claudio said the administration had fielded candidates in 98 per cent of all positions contested while the opposition has no presence in about 55 per cent of provinces, cities and towns.

The opposition has conceded it will be hard pressed to win even one-third of the seats in the House.

But a final poll by the independent Social Weather Stations, taken from May 2-4, showed the opposition winning six seats in the upper house of Congress against the administration with four and two independents.

Half the Senate is elected every three years to six-year terms. The 12 incumbents in the 24-seat Senate are equally divided between the administration, the opposition and independents.

At the local government level, Arroyo's allies were expected to sweep 80-90 per cent of positions up for grabs, from governors and mayors to councilors.

The president's critics warned the administration may rig the election, as many allege it did during presidential elections in 2004 to help Arroyo win.

Analysts have warned that any major poll fraud may escalate into unrest and violence.

At least 112 people have been killed in campaign violence, but the number of victims is below the 189 killed in 2004.

Counting, done manually at precinct level, was expected to be completed at 12 p m (0930 hrs IST) on May 15 and results sent to the municipal and city levels for tallying.

Winners would be proclaimed 36 hours after the tallying at the municipal level, 48 hours at city and 72 hours at provincial and congressional levels.

Results of elections to the senate were expected only after four weeks and could be further delayed by allegations of fraud.

REUTERS>