4 party-list groups ask Comelec to suspend canvassing over glitches

MANILA, Philippines – Four party-list groups on Friday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to stop the canvassing of votes due to numerous glitches reported on election day nationwide.

Party-list groups Append, Partido Lakas ng Masa, Murang Kuryente and Ang Nars filed a manifestation and urgent motion with the Comelec to grant them access to election data and audit logs from vote-counting machines (VCMs) and servers and to cancel or suspend canvassing and proclamation of winners.

In their nine-page petition shared with media Friday evening, the party-list groups cited the defective VCMs, SD cards, and the seven-hour glitch in the transparency server which delayed the release of partial and unofficial results to media groups and poll watchdogs.

READ: 961 VCMs, 1,665 SD cards suffer glitches in 2019 polls — Comelec

READ: Comelec transparency server glitch delays release of partial poll results
The party-list groups, which were represented by Append party legal counsel Romel Bagares and PLM Party Secretary-General Aaron Pedrosa at the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) command center at the PICC, urged the poll body to delay the proclamation of winners until the said issues are resolved.

READ: Senate race winners may be proclaimed on Sunday – Comelec

“The technical glitches that were duly reported and documented, and in some instances, admitted by the Comelec, bring to the fore questions on the machine-generated and transmitted election returns and certificates of canvass.

Discrepancies and manifest errors in the certificates of canvass may have arisen as a result of these technical glitches,” the groups said.

The Comelec has so far canvassed 146 Certificates of Canvass or 87.43 percent of the total 167 COCs as of Friday evening.

The groups also sought access to election data, including system and audit logs transmitted from VCMs, Consolidation Canvassing System configuration files, electronic copies of COCs, and a list of malfunctioning VCMs and related reports, among others. (Editor: Gilbert S. Gaviola)