Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) conducted mock polls in several towns and cities in Metro Manila and the provinces on Saturday (February 13).
Watchdog concerned over rejected ballots
The simulated elections began at around 7 a.m. and are expected to last until noontime.
At the RMES alone, three ballots have been rejected, according to election supervisor Jennifer Mercado, one of which was because the voter shaded all the circles.
Here are the locations:
This is the first time the entire automated election system is tested — from the counting of ballots, canvassing and transmission of votes to the declaration of winners.
More than 25,000 registered voters are expected to participate using the new vote-counting machines.
The reason behind the rejection of the other two ballots is uncertain. Mercado said the voters might not have shaded the ballots properly, or her signature could have gone beyond the space allotted for election supervisors.
The canvassing of returns will follow at the Comelec warehouse in Santa Rosa Laguna.
Long voting time
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista visited several polling locations to oversee the mock polls, including the H. Atienza Elementary School in Baseco Compound, Tondo, Manila.
But Kontra Daya’s Banjo Cordero said the machine should be able to show why the ballot was rejected.
He observed some voters spent a long time casting their votes.
At H. Atienza, it took the first voter 11 minutes to complete the voting process, which is ideally done in two to three minutes per voter.
He added if the Comelec fails to resolve this, it will be more problematic on the actual election day.
At the Ramon Magsaysay Elementary School (RMES) in Quezon City, 82-year-old Natividad Pano spent 21 minutes to complete her ballot despite being assisted by an observer from poll watchdog Kontra Daya.
Plot twist: Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift for president
Of the 700 registered voters in the area, only 2 percent or 20 people have voted as of noon.
The mock elections mimicked what would happen in the May 9 polls, but the ballots were different.
Instead of containing the names from Comelec’s certified list of candidates, the ballots for the mock polls listed names of celebrities.
Participants can vote for Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, or other foreign singers for president. Other famous celebrities and groups were listed as vice presidential, senatorial, and party-list candidates.
CNN Philippines’ David Santos and Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
