Party List Group Asks COMELEC To Disqualify AKBAYAN!

MAKATI CITY – The party list group Babae para sa Kaunlaran (Babae Ka) on Sunday said it would urge the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party (Akbayan) for allegedly leaking the names of the nominees of different party-list organizations in violation of election rules and regulations.

Sally Dagami, BABAE Ka chairperson, said: “The evidence against Akbayan are all documented by the various television and radio stations, and the print media. Nobody in his or her right mind will deny all these.”

Last week, the Comelec threatened with disqualification party-list groups who would reveal the names of nominees in the May 14, 2007 party-list system of elections.

Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra warned that a sectoral party organization will be disqualified “after proper proceedings and due process and the merit of the case” if it leaks the names of nominees.

Borra claimed that the identities of party-list nominees should not be revealed or published “so as not to confuse the voters.”

He added that under the law, even the poll body is not allowed to reveal the names of the nominees since they represent the party-list and not the candidates.

“Akbayan maliciously revealed the names of nominees of other party-list groups to grandstand and serve its selfish motive of gaining media mileage at the expense of legitimate party-list organizations,” Ruth Vasquez, president of BABAE KA, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner newspaper.

BABAE KA, according to Vasquez, will file a formal request to disqualify Akbayan. The group will also encourage other party-list groups to petition for the Akbayan’s exclusion in the party-list system of election.

“Based on the official statement of the Comelec, Akbayan has clearly violated the party-list system law and trampled upon the rights of legitimate party-list organizations. Thus, we call on all party-list groups to unite for the purpose of disqualifying Akbayan, the violator of our democratic rights,” Vasquez said.