Comelec holds mock election in BARMM

MANILA, Philippines — Simulated voting activities were held yesterday in several areas in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in preparation for the conduct of the first BARMM parliamentary election this coming September.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the mock election intends to test the automated election system that will be used for the BARMM electoral exercise on Sept. 14.

The simulation exercise involved actual voters casting ballots and members of the Board of Election Inspectors administering the use of voting machines.

The Comelec’s “End-Monitoring Report” showed successful voting and transmission activities in 10 clustered precincts in the towns of Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao del Norte and Bongao in Tawi-Tawi as well as in Cotabato City.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the exercise aims to test the transmission time of election results from poll precincts to Comelec servers.

Garcia said the mock election is not required under the law, but poll officials just wanted to make sure that the voting machines, which had been used in previous elections, will function properly on election day.

He said that aside from information dissemination, the Comelec will also conduct an intensified voter education campaign from July to August.

Garcia assured voters that they will get to know more about the candidates during the campaign period.

He said the Comelec is currently preparing the layout of the official ballots and finalizing the list of candidates.

Those who have access to the Comelec website may check the candidates and their complete names.

“Apart from the names, the  ballots will bear the photos of the candidates and the logos of political parties. — John Unson