The situation in Maguindanao right now is proving to be a threat to the holding of elections in that province. Although the Commission on Elections assures that the Maguindanao Massacre would not force a postponement of elections in the province, some quarters still think otherwise.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo has said that in a worst-case scenario a failure of elections would be declared in Maguindanao. He, however, explains that such a situation could be easily remedied through a resolution moving the election to a later date.

But then there is the matter of martial law being imposed in Maguindanao. Some groups particularly the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting say martial law should be lifted to ensure free elections. Well, Malacanang has already said that martial law would be lifted soon. Here's part of a report from manilatimes.net.

In a press conference, Press Sec. Cerge Remonde said that martial law would be lifted as soon the suspects in the Maguindanao massacre were arrested and the private armies there were disarmed.

The government also wants to restore peace and order in Maguindanao and to guarantee press freedom to achieve an honest and free elections in the province next year, he added.

Now that Congress was scheduled to discuss the martial law imposed over Maguindanao, Remonde said that the Palace was ready to defend it if lawmakers question them.

He added that he does not think that martial law would go beyond the 60-day limit prescribed by the Constitution, saying that he believed that the Maguindanao situation would soon stabilize.

Whether or not martial law would indeed be lifted soon in Maguindanao, the commission is already eyeing the holding of elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao of which Maguindanao is a part at least a week earlier than the prescribed date. Comelec explains that holding the elections earlier in the region would allow the government to focus its security efforts on a smaller number of areas and therefore give local voters a "safer" voting experience. A number of representative are in favor of such a move according to an abs-cbnnews.com report.

A bill has been filed in the lower House by Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo which calls for earlier elections in the provinces of the ARMM which also intends to ensure peace during the electoral exercise.

Sen. Richard Gordon and Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez have also filed bills, seeking early elections.

As a supporter of poll automation, I am really concerned that all these issues surrounding the upcoming elections would be erroneously seen as problems related to poll automation. I'd like to do my part by stressing this point: AUTOMATING THE ELECTIONS IS NOT THE ISSUE IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE.

I seriously hope Comelec would be able to come up with a way to ensure that elections in Maguindanao and other election hotspots in the ARMM and other parts of the country will be carried out as planned, meaning as honest, orderly and peaceful as possible. Of course, the whole process should also be automated as mandated by law.