Arroyo takes early lead in elections

By staff and wire reports

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's coalition may have taken an early lead in crucial legislative elections likely to decide whether the nation wins political tranquillity or lurches into more turmoil.

Unofficial, fragmentary results tallied by two of three private polling groups showed Arroyo's People Power Coalition candidates leading in senatorial races but with still no clear indication that they could snare enough seats to firmly control the powerful upper chamber of Congress.

ELECTION WATCH Philippines legislative elections   IN-DEPTH Estrada: The downfall of a president   •  Timeline: Key events   •  Profile: Joseph Estrada   •  Audio: 'It's all a conspiracy'   •  Message board    CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

Tension rose after vote-counting began when several areas of the capital Manila and a number of provinces were hit by hours-long power cuts, which raised fears of ballot fraud.

An official with the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) told CNN that counting was being hindered by the blackouts.

Over 80 percent of the country's 36.5 million registered voters are believed to have turned out to cast ballots for 13 of 24 senators, 262 members of the House of Representatives, municipal and provincial officials.

The elections are seen as a virtual referendum on the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who became president when her predecessor Joseph Estrada was ousted in large-scale demonstrations on January 20.

Complete results will take at least nine or 10 days.

NAMFREL officials around the country say their organization, which has been tasked with putting together an unofficial tally of Monday's election results, say early copies of the election returns are unreadable -- making it difficult to begin their quick count.

The anomalies are leading the group to question the transparency of Monday's vote count.

"Our electoral process is very vulnerable to manipulation and it is very difficult to audit," the official said.

"Since some politicians are finding that they can get more votes with less (money) at the counting level, it (cheating) could happen," he said.

Election day problems

Monday night's problems capped a list of woes that plagued election officials.

Some polling stations ran out of ballot forms, while others reportedly ran short on the indelible ink used to prevent repeat voting.

Hundreds of people, including NAMFREL chief Jose Conception, were not allowed to vote because their names did not appear on official lists.

Despite a bloody pre-election period which left 79 people dead and more than a 100 injured, Monday's vote was considered relatively peaceful.

"So far, by and large, compared to past elections, today's elections were generally okay," Alfredo Benipayo, COMELEC chairman said an hour before balloting ended.

Arroyo and her ruling People Power Coalition need a strong showing to give her credibility a boost.

If more Estrada supporters get into the Senate, it will further complicate Arroyo's already difficult task of governing with the support of the coalition that brought her to power.

Early exit polls show Arroyo and Estrada sharing 12 of the 13 hotly contested senate seats.

Arroyo's coalition is widely expected to sweep the elections for the lower house.

Philippine election key to credit rating
Philippines 'rebellion' decree lifting
Philippine police intensify protest crackdown
Philippine president: 'I'm in control'

Philippines House of Representatives
National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL)

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.