MANILA – Not even the Commission on Elections (Comelec) report about the 99-percent accuracy of Smarmatic’s vote counting machines (VCMs) used in the May 2019 polls can stop President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to replace the automated poll contractor.
In a speech in Davao City on Thursday, Duterte reiterated his call on Comelec to replace Smartmatic, saying that even one vote “wasted” was not good.
“Ang sinabi ko naman dyan sa Smartmatic, even if there is just one vote that is wasted hindi maganda ‘yan. It will foment and it will generate – sabi ko maghanap kayo ng bago na walang palpak ni isang boto,” Duterte said.
“Kapag may isang Maranao na sige yawyaw dyan hindi na magtahimik ‘yan lalo nang madaya,” he added.
The Comelec on Thursday said the accuracy of the 2019 midterm elections last month was at a record high 99.9953 percent, citing results of the random manual audit (RMA).
The high level of accuracy, as far as Comelec’s RMA partners are concerned, was enough to dismiss claims that the receipts generated by the VCMs did not reflect the votes on the ballots and as such, was fraud free.
Duterte earlier called on Comelec to replace Smartmatic and look for a new one that is “free of fraud” following the concern raised by the opposition, administration supporters and civic groups relative to the previous and present elections on certain technical glitches. /PN
