Comelec issues guidelines for ballot recount

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has released the guidelines on the procedures for the recount of ballots subject of election protests in connection with the May automated polls. "There is a need to formulate rules which would govern the proceedings for the recount of ballots involved in said election protest cases," the Comelec said in Resolution 9104 promulgated November 30. According to the resolution, both parties in the protest shall submit in writing to the over-all chairman of the recount committees the order of priority of clustered precincts that will be subjected to recount. It says the chairman shall then request for the compact flash (CF) cards inside the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines used in the protested area during the May 10 elections. The chairman shall be responsible for the contested PCOS machine, to make sure that the seal of the CF card compartment remains sealed before the recount. During the recount, Comelec Resolution 9104 says the recount committee shall first open the ballot box and make an inventory of its contents and record all information related to it. The personnel from the Information and Technology Department (ITD) and the Election Records and Statistics Department (ERSD) shall then be tasked to configure a new CF card to reread the ballots in the contested area. The recorder of the recount committee shall likewise physically count the ballots found inside the ballot box and compare it with the total number of ballots recorded on the election returns. Ballots that were rejected by the PCOS machine in the May elections shall be set aside and shall not be reconsidered in the recount proceedings. If the total number of physical ballots does not match the number recorded on the election returns, the committee shall compare the number of physical ballots against the number of picture image files of ballots found in the new CF card. If there are physical ballots that do not have any picture images, they shall be excluded from the recount. The total number of ballot image files in CF card shall likewise prevail if there are still discrepancies. If it is discovered that the integrity of some ballots and ballot boxes were "compromised," the resolution says the poll body shall still use the picture image files of the physical ballots. If the numbers match, the committee shall validate the authenticity of the ballots by feeding them into the PCOS and printing a new set of election returns, which shall be shown to both parties in the protest alongside the original ERs. Comelec Resolution 9104 says that if the results are the same, the election protest or counter-protest shall be dismissed. Comelec Resolution 9104 says that both parties in the protest shall shoulder the expenses incurred in the transfer of election paraphernalia and use of other equipment needed in the recount. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV