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Philippines vote machines fail

Summary

12 May 2010

Early results from the Philippines' presidential election show that Benigno Aquino, known as Noy Noy, has a big lead. But officials are assessing the impact of problems with the voting machines which were used for the first time.

Reporter:

Kate McGeown

Report

Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines have had to wait for hours in the hot sun to cast their votes due to problems with the new automated voting system.

Critics had warned of problems in the days before the polls when tests revealed a glitch in the memory cards. Votes for one candidate were being incorrectly registered as votes for someone else.

Nothing this serious has been discovered yet on polling day but several machines have jammed and even the main presidential front runner Noy Noy Aquino had difficulties. The machine he was about to use broke down before he could cast his ballot.

The main concern is that problems with the voting could lead to problems on the ground. Elections in the Philippines are often marred by unrest and there have been several fatal shooting incidents already since the polls opened.

Kate McGeown, BBC News