Comelec holds full-blown mock elections in 10 areas Saturday

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will hold on Saturday “full-blown” mock elections in 10 areas across the country as a preview of the May 13 automated balloting.

Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Friday said the mock polls using fictitious names in the candidates’ slots will simulate the entire automated election process from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with roughly 2,500 real registered voters from these areas participating.

“We are ready. Our people are already scattered all over the country. We are just doing some praying so that there will be no problem,” he told reporters.

“We don’t expect the mock polls to be perfect. We are also anticipating some problems but we hope not a major one,” Brillantes added.

In Metro Manila, 1,639 voters from 11 precincts will troop to the polling stations of two barangay in Quezon City’s 4th district, UP Campus and Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, to cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

At the end of the mock balloting, election returns will be printed. There will also be an actual transmission of results to the city or municipal board of canvassers, the central server and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.

A mock election will also be conducted in two schools in the 5th district of Manila but with fewer participants and a shorter voting period.

The small-scale event will see only 100 voters trooping to the voting centers (Epifanio de los Santos Elementary School and Herminigildo Atienza Elementary School) from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., according to the Comelec’s education and information department.

Limited versions of the mock polls will also be conducted in Iriga City (Iriga Central School and Sta. Teresita Elementary School) and Bato (Bato North Elementary School and Antipolo Elementary School) in Camarines Sur province; Dumaguete City (City Central Elementary School and Camanjac Elementary School) and Sta. Catalina (Santa Catalina North Central School and Kabulacan Elementary School) in Negros Oriental; Cagayan de Oro City (City Central School and Balulang Elementary School) and Initao (Initao Central School and Oguis Elementary School) in Misamis Oriental; and Bongao (Lamion Walking Blackboard Elementary School and Simandagit Elementary School) in Tawi-Tawi and Buluan (Pilot Elementary School and Talitay Elementary School) in Maguindanao.

One hundred voters from each of the areas will also be casting their ballots from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. only.

Brillantes said the Comelec will use fictitious foreign-sounding names to fill up the candidates’ slots for senators and party-list groups in the mock ballots to avoid accidentally including the names of actual candidates in the elections.