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According to the final, unofficial count of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), incumbent mayor Rafael Flauta, Jr. lost to Dante Manganaan, a former policeman, by 583 votes.
Father Rafael Tianero, who is in charge of the Indigenous Peoples ministry of the Oblates of the Mary Immaculate (OMI) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) told MindaNews by telephone that the people are guarding the ballot boxes at the town hall because they do not want them transferred to Isulan, the capital town of Sultan Kudarat province.
Father Tianero said armed men disrupted the canvassing Tuesday night, forcing the municipal board of canvassers to suspend the session. The BOC has yet to convene but Mayor Flauta reportedly wants the canvassing done in Isulan, a move that the Manganaan camp disagrees with.
Senator Ninoy Aquino has 20,122 registered voters.