ELECTION watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) on Monday called for a coherent electoral reform agenda to make elections more accessible, inclusive and transparent for all voters. “It’s time to move from promises of genuine elections to a complete and coherent electoral reform agenda,” said Lente, referring to the president’s directive for Congress to prioritize the proposed Anti-Dynasty Law and the Party-List System Reform Law. It stressed that while the two measures open an important window to strengthen accountability in elections and governance, the proposed reforms cannot stand alone. What is needed, Lente pointed out, is a broader set of reforms that aim to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of elections, decongest voting centers, update and strengthen campaign finance regulations, and institutionalize key Comelec offices such as the Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) and the Vulnerable Sectors Office (VSO). “To truly level the playing field and rebuild public trust, they must be accompanied by other long-delayed reforms that make elections more accessible, inclusive, and transparent for ordinary Filipino voters,” it added. The group noted that the last substantive electoral law passed to benefit a broad range of election stakeholders was enacted in 2016, with the passage of the Election Service Reform Act. The group said voting should be made easier and comfortable to the vulnerable sectors of society, such as senior citizens, persons with disability and pregnant women, among others, by institutionalizing the Comelec Vulnerable Sectors Office. “A key focus was the accessibility of voting for vulnerable sectors, where we stand in support of reforms that would expand early voting and local absentee voting to ensure that every Filipino, regardless of their circumstances, has the opportunity to exercise their right to suffrage,” it said. It added that local absentee voting should be expanded to cover all qualified voters performing public functions/duties on election day to improve the inclusiveness of elections. Lente said that it also welcomes reforms that would enhance the independence of the Comelec and its field offices by amending, in particular, Section 53 and 55 of the Omnibus Election Code to shift the burden of providing offices spaces from the local government units (LGUs) to the Comelec itself. This, it said, would shield the Commission from political pressures.