Halalan 2025: Comelec completes mock elections

Comelec Chairman George Garcia inspects a voting machine during mock elections in Sulu on Jan. 25, 2025. Queenie Casimiro

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) successfully conducted mock elections on Saturday, its chairman said, saying transmission of the simulated votes was at 100 percent.

Saturday's mock elections came days before the poll body resumes printing of ballots, which is set for Monday, January 27, following delays due to restraining orders handed by the Supreme Court.

"Mock elections completed. 100% transmissions from precincts to municipal/city canvassing centers, central server, [Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting] and [National Movement for Free Elections] servers, media server, majority and minority [political] party servers and central and back-up server," Comelec chair George Garcia said.

He added transmission of results from the municipal board of canvassers  to their provincial counterparts and on to the National Board of Canvassers was also at 100 percent.

GARCIA OVERSEES MOCK ELECTIONS IN SULU

Garcia led Comelec and local government officials, election observers, and military and police representative in inspecting four clustered precincts in Sulu.

The mock elections started at 7 a.m. and ended at 10 a.m., after which results are transmitted to the Central Office.

Benjamin Mutaser, member of the Board of Election Inspectors said the only glitch they encountered was the "misreading" of some ballots

Comelec chair Garcia said the whole process of transmission will only take about 14 seconds. 

Garcia also boasted that, with the new machine, the voter can immediately check through the screen if their votes were properly counted.

He added the battery packs ib the voting machines can last for three days and that the Comelec will arrange internet connections in areas with no mobile or data signal.

He said problems on election day would not be caused by the machines.

"Terrorism or violence may occur but we trust the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] and [Philippine National Police] to ensure no such thing will happen," he said.

Sulu Gov Abdusakur Tan said majority of the candidates in the province are running unopposed, which lessens the incidents of political tension.

Sulu is one of 16 areas in the country where mock elections were held Saturday. -- With a report from Queenie Casimiro, ABS-CBN News