MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has completed the final testing and sealing of vote-counting machines (VCMs) for the first regular parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), with Chairman George Erwin Garcia saying the exercise was aimed at ensuring the machines are ready to accurately record and count votes on Monday.
All VCMs allocated for the Sept. 14 BARMM parliamentary elections underwent final testing and sealing on Saturday, Sept. 12, as part of measures to identify and address technical issues before Election Day, Garcia said.
“We will test all the machines to see if they are working and counting correctly,” Garcia said Filipino.
Garcia said the testing process also helps ensure that no unauthorized programs or instructions are present in the machines that could affect the integrity of voting and vote counting.
“It would be more difficult if we were to test the machines for the first time on Election Day itself,” he said in Filipino.
The final testing and sealing process allows election officials to verify the operational readiness of the VCMs before they are secured for use on Election Day.
Comelec said the machines will be sealed after testing and kept in their designated polling places or rooms until they are opened on Sept. 14.
The completion of the testing is part of Comelec’s preparations to ensure that voting, counting and transmission operations proceed properly during the region’s first regular parliamentary elections.
The exercise also forms part of measures to strengthen public confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the election results and minimize the risk of technical disruptions during the polls.
Representatives of political parties, candidates, poll watchers, citizens’ arms and civil society organizations were expected to witness the testing and sealing procedures as part of Comelec’s transparency measures.
Beyond the VCM testing, election authorities have also been completing logistical and operational preparations, including the deployment of election personnel, distribution of election paraphernalia and coordination with security forces assigned to polling centers.
The Sept. 14 elections will mark the first regular parliamentary polls in BARMM and a major step in the region’s transition from the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to a fully elected parliamentary government.
Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo earlier said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. viewed the elections as the fruition of decades of peace-building efforts in the Bangsamoro and a historic milestone for the region and the country.
With the final testing and sealing completed, attention now shifts to the conduct of voting, counting and transmission of results on Election Day.
