Central Comelec assures Thomasians of secure elections after reverting to manual vote

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Comelec Chairman Arvin Bersonda (left) at the announcement of the official candidates for the 2017 Central Student Council elections. File Photo

THE UST Central Commission on Elections (Comelec) has vowed a secure canvassing of election returns, despite reverting to manual voting after last year’s electronic voting was plagued with technical problems.

Comelec Chairman Arvin Bersonda said Comelec would occupy the entire fourth floor of the Tan Yan Kee Student Center, including rooms of different University-wide student organizations, for the canvassing on April 22 to 23.

“We have decided na ila-lock `yung buong fourth floor and the Comelec will occupy every [organization] rooms on April 22 to 23,” Bersonda said in a press conference last March 24 at the Tan Yan Kee Student Center.

The votes for the central and local student councils will be canvassed simultaneously. Poll watchers of political parties and independent candidates will be allowed at the venue of the canvassing.

“Per college na local [Comelec] unit may naka-assign na room. [S]abay-sabay na bibilangin `yung for central and local habang umiikot kaming Central Comelec para maging smooth `yung process,” he said.

Election officials have also decided to adopt a room-to-room voting per block in every college “in order to give security” to the balloting, Bersonda added.

In the previous election, the proclamation of elected officers was delayed due to a glitch in the downloading of votes from the e-Learning Access Program, the online learning system of the University.

Comelec has approved the official list of candidates in this year’s student council elections, with all 13 candidates deemed qualified to run.

READ: CSC VP is sole presidential candidate in 2017 student polls

The campaign period will be from March 27 to April 8 and April 18 to 19, except weekends. The proclamation of the new CSC officers will be on April 23.

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