The MOA also states the groups want to help prevent the commission of fraudulent acts from the registration of voters to the proclamation of winning candidates.
The MOA was signed at the end of a two-day conference on Elections Multi-Stakeholders Coordination Conference last week, initiated by the Citizens Coalition for Electoral Reforms (C-Care), an accredited poll watch group in the ARMM.
Twenty-three non-government organizations (NGOs) and peoples organizations signed the MOA.
Among the signatories were C-Care, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) from the provinces of Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, and Lanao del Sur, Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS); Alliance of Bangsamoro for Peace and Sustainable Development (ABSPD), Alliance of Peace Advocates – ARMM, Bangsamoro Council for JustPeace (BCJP), Bangsamoro Network and Development Center (NetDev), and Bangsamoro Women Solidarity Forum, Inc.
The C-Care said that there is a need for stakeholders to work together so that the results of the ARMM elections will reflect the sentiments of the people in the region and that in the end the will of the people will prevail.
The MOA also provides that the parties involved shall coordinate their programs, activities and related efforts in the run-up to the August 11 polls and establish a single Regional Coordination Council (RCC), which shall take the lead in bringing together and coordinating the work of concerned government agencies and civil society groups.
The group shall set up the coordinating mechanism based on the existing structures of network members.
The parties shall prepare and approve the operational guidelines of the coordination mechanism following the signing of the agreement, and undertake such other activities as may be necessary, including the training of volunteers, media work, and fundraising, to carry out the objectives of the MOA. (MindaNews)