By MIKHA FLORES
THE Commission on Elections has identified the 234 towns and municipalities across the country where a random manual audit (RMA) will be conducted after the May 13 elections.
Election Commissioner Christian Robert Lim said the audit will check whether the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines accurately counted the votes cast. “It is important to verify the count of the machines and humans.”
Carmelita Ericta, an RMA Committee Member and National Statistics Office Administrator, said the 234 were selected days ahead of the elections to give field personnel a heads-up.
It is from these 234 that the Comelec will select on May 12 the specific precincts where the manual audits will be conducted.
“We need lead time for the logistics to reach the sample areas,” Ericta said. It will also better prepare the teams for the RMA, she added.
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