PPCRV
MANILA, Philippines — Likely winners of the May 9 election may already be observed within five hours after voting is closed.
This was according to the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), noting past elections it has monitored.
PPCRV spokesman Atty. Van dela Cruz said that if voting closed at precincts by 7 p.m., the trend of winning candidates may already be noticeable by 11 p.m. Monday or at midnight.
“In the past elections, if the contest is close, we are expecting to see some results within five hours of closing so if we close at 7 p.m. by 12 midnight, we should be able to see a trend if the contests are close,” he said in a press briefing.
“But as history tells us, for certain positions, it might not be that close, therefore we might not be able to tell but definitely, we should be able to see a trend of around 11 or 12 in the evening,” he added.
As for the results in the senatorial race, particularly those in the last three spots, the PPCRV said the winning trend may only be seen after a few days.
“In terms of the senatorial slate, the last three positions generally take a few days, the last three positions in the senatorial slate will not be as clear,” he said.
The PPCRV is a non-partisan and non-profit organization that helps the Commission on Elections (Comelec) attain “clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful elections.”
It serves as a poll watchdog that ensures that the election returns (ERs) are accurate.
PPCRV’s 350,000-strong volunteers will help in picking up election returns (ERs) from some 106,000 clustered polling precincts nationwide.
The ERs will be delivered to the command center in UST where they will be encoded by volunteers for 10 days.
This enables the PPCRV to release in the next few days a partial and unofficial count of the votes.
The PPCRV earlier said they expect an 85-percent voter turnout in the May 9 national and local elections.