Manila is among the election hotspots that teams of foreign observers will be keeping an eye on in May, non-government group Compact for Peaceful and Democratic Elections said on Thursday.
According to a report on InterAksyon, observers from the United States, Germany, Spain, Burma, Thailand, Australia, Mongolia, and Uganda will be deployed to poll hotspots to “study the effectiveness of the electoral reforms instituted in these areas.”
Compact will be watching the elections in the City of Manila, where Mayor Alfredo Lim and former President Joseph Estrada are vying for the mayoralty.
“It’s an almost 50-50 fight. We all know the importance of Manila to the country which is why it bears close watching, because it will also be crucial to the 2016 elections, along with other places,” Compact convenor Ramon Casiple of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform said in the report.
The candidates have been trading barbs on national TV, with each accusing the other of lying and of being unworthy of sitting at the Manila City Hall.
Aside from Manila, Compact observers will be monitoring polls in Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Samar, Dinagat Islands, and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.
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