MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday said precincts during the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections on Sept. 14 will only have 600 voters each to prevent long lines and ensure faster voting.
In a press briefing held after the kick-off ceremony for the printing of the official ballots to be used in the Bangsamoro polls, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia noted that precincts during previous elections in the region had 800 to 1,000 voters each because of insufficient budget.
“Now, it’s only 600 per precinct. We made sure it’s only 600 so our fellow Filipinos can vote faster. So that they would not have to endure lining up for so long in the upcoming elections,” he said.
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Because of this arrangement, Garcia said some voters may find that they have been transferred to another precinct within the same school. He urged the region’s political parties and candidates to help inform their constituents regarding the changes.
“More than anything else, the people in the Bangsamoro must be able to vote,” Garcia said.
Meanwhile, the Comelec chief said 2.39 million ballots will be printed for the elections, which would cost a total of P63 million. He said the printing is expected to take at least one week.
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Garcia also noted that no excess ballots will be printed, stressing that each voter will just have one ballot to prevent possible election fraud.
“We do not have excess ballots. Ballots are only 1:1. This is unlike the past years where there is excess, and therefore, expect that there are 200 or 300 voters in a precinct, that is how many ballots we will send,” he said.
“We do not want to compromise or cast doubt on where the ballots end up,” he added. With a report by Marc Andre Esguerra, intern /jpv
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