More foreign election watchers arriving in Phl

More international observers are coming to the country to monitor the midterm elections on May 12, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced.

- By MAYEN JAYMALIN

Aside from the European Union delegation, which met with the poll body yesterday, Japan and the United States will also send their respective contingents, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said.

Additionally, executive board members of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), the world's largest international organization of election management, are expected to arrive in the country today.

According to Garcia, A-WEB's executive board has chosen the Philippines to hold their important meeting.

"Despite the amount of preparation, we accepted this challenge," he said, noting that around 50 members of the executive board will be coming here to attend the meeting.

Comelec Commissioner Aimee Ferolino is currently the vice chair of A-WEB and stands to assume the position of chair for 2026 to 2028. A-WEB is composed of 119 election management bodies.

Similarly, observers from the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) will monitor the midterm elections on May 12.

The group yesterday launched an international observer mission to monitor the upcoming elections amid rising concerns over election-related incidents.

"As a global human rights coalition, we are once again deploying the IOM to support Filipinos in protecting their civil and political rights, including the right to free and honest elections," ICHRP vice chair Patricia Lisson said in an online news briefing.