THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Occidental will deliver the vote counting machines (VCMs) to the office of the election officers in various local government units (LGUs) on April 28 and 29 to be used for the May 12 national and local elections.
Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said the election officers will be tasked to deliver the VCMs, which are composed of 2,048 VCMs, to various municipalities and cities in Negros Occidental.
He said they have at least 351 contingency VCMs to be used in case of any trouble.
Ananoria added the official ballots will be arriving on May 1 and 2 and they are also inviting the watchers to inspect the ballots.
The Comelec will also hold the testing and sealing of the VCMs on May 7 to ensure that the VCMs are operational.
Ananoria noted that all the election officers were already directed to inform the candidates about the conduct of testing and sealing.
Moreover, Ananoria said the local absentee voting will start on Monday, April 29, and will end on May 1.
He said Negros Occidental has a total of 1,880 local absentee voters, which include the Philippine National Police and Philippine Army, among others.
He added Negros Occidental has a total of 2.14 million registered voters, the sixth largest voting population in the country. (MAP)