COMELEC encountered minor glitches at mock elections.
COMELEC — The Commission on Elections encountered some of the minor glitches during its mock elections in dozens of voting centers across the Philippines.
On Thursday, COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez said that poor internet connection and bad weather were some of the minor glitches that the poll body experienced during its mock polls.
Jimenez said that while the mock elections went “very well” with a high turnout of volunteer voters, COMELEC experienced “some difficulty”.
“We did experience some difficulty when it came to some ballots in some places, especially in places where there had been heavy rainfall and some weather condition that basically affected the thickness of the ballots,” Jimenez told ANC’s Rundown. “Apart from that, we have problems with electronic transmission because some places really had a very difficult time connecting to the transmission system.”
Jimenez also noted that those issues were immediately resolved.
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Last Wednesday, some 34 voting centers in seven regions participated in the mock elections that opened at 7:00 am to accommodate volunteer voters who wanted to get a sense of how to cast their votes come May 9, 2022 amidst strict health protocols.
The poll body ended the nationwide mock elections at 5:00 pm after which a simulated canvassing of votes was held at the Cuneta Astrodome to declare the “winners”.
“There were few venues that doesn’t have enough staffing, particularly for the IPP (isolation polling place) and triage. That is really a point for improvement,” said lawyer Helen Graido, policy consultant of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections.
Also, Graido observed that the 3-room setup — holding area, voting area, and a third room where ballots were fed to the VCM — could be “risky” for vote-buying.
Jimenez said that those were valid observations and also assured the public that loitering in polling precincts will be strictly prohibited.
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