AN alarming majority of Moros believe that violence during elections is a way of life in Mindanao, the latest survey released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Thursday revealed.

The SWS survey reported that 69 percent of the 1,300 Moro respondents agreed that violence during elections is common in the area.

The survey, which asked respondents, “How much do you agree or disagree with this statement: ‘Violence during elections is accepted as a way of life in this province” showed that 23 percent said they “strongly agree” with the statement while 46 percent said they “somewhat agree.”

Between respondents in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) provinces and the non-ARMM areas, more respondents agreed with the statements in the ARMM areas with a +40 net rating compared with only +30 net rating in non-ARMM areas.

Meanwhile, with more respondents agreeing with the statement that violence during elections is common, around two out of five worry more about their personal safety during election time. In areas outside the ARMM, one out of three respondents worry about their personal security during elections.

Owing to the security issues during election time, it was no surprise that more Moros preferred to have an unopposed candidate during elections since it reduces campaign violence and insecurity.

“In the ARMM, two of out three [respondents] prefer unopposed candidates for the sake of peace; outside ARMM, half of the respondents want voters to have a choice,” the SWS said.

The survey also shows that around 76 percent of those surveyed said they would feel more confident of the fairness of the process if the votes were immediately counted at the precinct, instead of taken to the town hall for counting, as was the common practice in the ARMM.

Meanwhile, around 88 percent of those included in the survey still prefer being ruled by a male politician rather than a female one. The SWS said preference is slightly less among women at 79 percent than among men at 88 percent.

In relation to this, 45 percent of respondents said that a woman should get advice from her husband or father in deciding her vote. The SWS noted in a statement that Moro women have similar opinions as Moro men on the matter.

On the other hand, around 83 percent of Mindanao Muslims expect the ulama or a Muslim elder to be more influential in the coming August 2008 ARMM elections.

The survey also shows that 68 percent of respondents were satisfied that the official winners in the 2007 elections truly got the most votes. This, the SWS said, compared well with the 65-percent response among Filipinos in general, when surveyed by SWS in June 2007.

Around 75 percent of Mindanao Muslims said the 2007 voting was clean and orderly in their precincts, or much lower than the 97 percent response of all Filipinos in the June 2007 SWS survey.

The SWS special survey of Mindanao Muslims was conducted on February 1 to 7 with 700 respondents coming from areas in the ARMM (±4 percent error margin), with 100 respondents (±10 percent error margin) each in Basilan (except Isabela City), Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Marawi City and Sharif Kabunsuan.

The non-ARMM areas had 600 respondents (±5 percent error margin), with 100 respondents each in Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, Isabela City, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Norte.

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AN alarming majority of Moros believe that violence during elections is a way of life in Mindanao, the latest survey released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Thursday revealed.

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