A Commission on Elections (Comelec) official on Monday said the voting period in the 2022 elections is almost sure to be extended
“The direction we are going is to hold it in a day with extended voting hours. That is almost sure,” Comelec Commissioner Antonio Kho Jr. said during a forum on 2022 elections hosted by the Ateneo School of Government.
Kho added that the Comelec is still discussing the length of the extension.
RELATED STORY: Pacquiao on possible bid for presidency: ‘Kahit sinong politiko nangangarap maging Presidente’
“Eight hours won’t cut it. It could run 10 or even 12 hours, depending also on the capacity of the teachers,” he said.
“Chances are it would be a one-day election but extended period. Most probably, there will be additional two or three hours,” Kho furthered.
Meanwhile, the poll official said extending the voting period beyond one day is unlikely citing provision of election laws on extended voting days.
“We might need Congress for that. Kung gawin kasi natin tapos may mag-kwestiyon sa Supreme Court, patay na lahat,” he stressed,.
Kho said the Comelec is eyeing to limit the precinct ratio of 800 voters per precinct to ensure that COVID-19 protocols are observed.
READ ON: Remula reveals ‘middle men’ for presidential aspirants now reaching out for support
“We plan to lower it back to 800 per clustered precinct or even lower depending on the availability of our vote counting machines (VCMs),” he said.
“We have 97,000 VCMs, but of course, some of them need to be repaired [or] refurbished and we don’t expect them to be all okay, so we are looking at buying 10,000 more VCMs to comply with the 800 per precinct ratio,” Kho added.
There are at least 61 million registered voters for the 2022 polls, according to Comelec. (RA)
