Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez said Saturday it would be “safe” to accommodate up to 800 voters for every clustered precinct during the May 2022 general elections, which will be held amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a radio interview, Jimenez explained that the number was due to the availability of the vote counting machines.
“Obviously gusto natin ng mas maonti pero kasi kung kokontian pa natin yung bilang ng botante sa loob ng isang presinto eh kailangan natin merong kasabay na pagdami ng makina diba kasi nga nakapegged tayo doon sa dami ng makina natin eh sa ngayon mukhang hindi na tayo makakakuha ng karagdagang makina,” he said.
(Obviously, we want to reduce the number of voters per clustered precinct, but we also need to increase the number of machines as well, because this will depend on the number of machines. However, right now, it looks like we cannot get additional machines.)
Former Comelec commissioner Luie Guia earlier suggested that there should only be around 500 to 600 voters per clustered precinct given the threat posed by the coronavirus and its variants.
“Definitely hindi tayo makakakuha ng makina para magawa natin na 600 lang ang botante (we cannot get more machines to achieve the 600 voters) per precinct but having said that the point of bringing the number down is to manage the number of people inside the polling place,” Jimenez said.
The Comelec spokesperson assured the public that 800 voters per clustered precinct would be “manageable and safe” since only 60% to 70% of them would actually show up on election day.
“Hindi naman ‘yan aabot sa 100%, so magiging manageable pa rin yung ating mga polling place so we think it’s gonna be safe” he added.
(It will not reach 100%, so our polling places will still be manageable, so we think it’s gonna be safe.)
Jimenez earlier said that it was “unlikely” for a nationwide cancelation of the polls to occur due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
He, however, did not rule out the possibility that the elections could be postponed in certain areas.
The national and local elections will be held on May 9, 2022. — VBL, GMA News
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