Most registered Filipino voters expressed confidence that the elections would be clean and honest with the presence of independent poll observers during the May 10 elections, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results released Tuesday.

The results of the special SWS nationwide survey conducted from Feb. 24 to 28 with 2,100 respondents, which was released Tuesday, found that while only 47 percent are aware that there will be independent observers in the May, 2010 elections, most registered voters appreciate their roles in the coming elections.

The survey question was, “Sa darating na halalan sa Mayo, 2010 ay magkakaroon ng mga “independent observers” o walang-kinikilingang mga taga-matyag upang tingnan kung ang botohan sa halalan sa Mayo 2010 ay magiging malinis at matapat. Dati na po ba ninyong alam ito, o ngayon lang ninyo ito narinig?” (In the coming May 2010 elections, there will be “independent observers” who will check that the voting in the May 2010 elections will be clean and fair. Do you previously know about this or have you heard about this only now?)

A slightly bigger 53 percent have only heard about the presence of independent election observers.

About three in five or 59 percent of voters in Metro Manila are aware that there will be independent observers in the May, 2010 elections, the highest across all four areas.

It is followed by 50 percent in Visayas, 47 percent in Mindanao, and 42 percent in Balance Luzon.

Awareness of election observers in the May, 2010 elections is higher among the middle-to-upper classes (classes ABC) and the more educated.

By class, 56 percent of classes ABC are aware that there will be independent observers in the May, 2010 elections, higher compared to 48 percent in class D and 41 percent in class E.

By education, 64 percent of the college graduates are aware that there will be independent observers in the May, 2010 elections, much higher than among high school graduates (48 percent), elementary graduates (41 percent), and non-elementary graduates (38 percent).

The survey results also found that about 74 percent of the voters said the presence of poll observers adds confidence that the elections would be clean and honest, and 80 percent said their presence would help deter or reduce election-related violence.

Meanwhile, 20 percent said their presence adds only a little confidence and 6 percent their presence will not add confidence.

The expectation that independent observers will add to voters’ confidence in a clean and honest election is higher among those previously aware that there will be independent observers in the elections (85 percent) than those who just heard about it (66 percent).

Those who said independent observers will add to voters’ confidence that the May elections would be clean and honest is high across all areas, with the highest percentage in the Balance Luzon with 76 percent, 75 percent in Mindanao, 74 percent in Metro Manila and 71 percent in Visayas.

By education, the view that presence of independent observers will add to voters’ confidence that the May 2010 elections would be clean and honest is slightly higher among those with more education.

It is 81 percent among college graduates, 74 percent among high school graduates, 74 percent among elementary graduates, and 71 percent among non-elementary graduates.

Eighty percent of registered voters are also confident that independent observers in the May 2010 elections would help a lot/some to deter or reduce election-related violence.

Sixteen percent said their presence will help deter or reduce election-related violence a little, and 4 percent said none at all.

The expectation that independent observers would help a lot/some in deterring election-related violence is higher among those previously aware of them (88 percent) than those than those who just heard about them (72 percent).

It is also slightly higher in Balance Luzon (83 percent), compared to Mindanao (79 percent), Metro Manila (77 percent) and Visayas (75 percent).

Likewise, the survey found that 65 percent prefer Filipino observers rather than foreign observers.