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Election day in the Philippines were met with technical glitches on Monday, May 10, which may serve as catalyst for post-election appeals.
SLIDESHOW: Election Day Photos 1
SLIDESHOW: Election Day Photos 2
Errors from automated voting machines are causing concerns of mass inaccuracies throughout the country. Filipinos are voting to select the next round of local and national leaders.
Observers have reported that most polling precincts opened on time.
However, according to early field reports, voters and administrators encountered problems with the new automated system.
Voters are supposed to feed their ballots into counting machines. Results would then be transmitted electronically to centralized servers.
Some voters in precints were frustrated after having to wait for their turn to feed their ballots.
Some complained of mismatches regarding their names on voting lists.
In a precinct in Tarlac City, 75 kilometres north of Manila, the optical scanning machines stopped just two hours into the voting. In that precinct, only 112 of 1,000 people have cast their votes.
Presidential frontrunner Senator Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III was among the thousands waiting for the IT-related problems to be fixed.
Said Aquino:
We are concerned about possible massive disenfranchisement. If people are unable to vote because of the problems, then this is a big issue.
Aquino enjoys a 22-percentage-point lead over his closest rivals former president Joseph Estrada and Senator Manuel Villar. However, many congressional and local candidates are facing close electoral races, causing concerns at precints around the country.
