MANILA, Philippines -- Scattered violence and glitches with vote-counting machines being used for the first time failed to dissuade millions of Filipinos from voting in Monday's elections, seeking a clean start following a decade of corruption-tainted politics.
Sen. Benigno Aquino III - whose father was assassinated while opposing a dictatorship and whose late mother led the "people power" revolt that restored freedoms - commanded a large lead in the last pre-election polls.
But even Aquino was unable to immediately cast his ballot, because a vote-counting machine broke down in his precinct. The Elections Commission extended voting for another hour to make up for delays.
Computer problems and campaign-related violence, which has killed more than 30 people in the past three months, were the main concerns in elections that officials hope will set a new standard for the Philippines' fragile democracy.
For the first time, optical scanning machines will count votes in 76,000 precints. A software glitch discovered a week ago nearly derailed the vote, but was fixed at the last minute. Still, some machines malfunctioned in the tropical humidity, including in Aquino's hometown of Tarlac, north of Manila.
ad_icon"This is a new system of voting. We have a longer ballot, so I hope all the people can vote and not be delayed and I hope there will be no long lines of people outside when the voting ends," Aquino told reporters while waiting for the machine to be fixed.
In the past, manual counts in the world's second-biggest archipelago delayed results for weeks and were prone to fraud. Officials are now expecting early tallies just hours after polls close. About 50 million registered voters in this country of 90 million will elect politicians for posts from the presidency to municipal councils.
Election Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said about 300 out of 76,000 machines had problems but that most already were replaced, adding that the problems were "not as widespread as it's made to appear."
"And what's important is that if a machine breaks down, there is a replacement and there is a back-up procedure," he said.
Mario Barreto, 52, said it took him two hours to vote in an elementary school in Manila.
"The most difficult thing was to look for your name and lining up," Barreto said.
In another precinct, election volunteer Ging Pimentel said some of the names were missing from voter lists, slowing the process.Just do it
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