MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared on Tuesday, May 14, that there was no failure of elections despite the technical glitches and delays that occurred.

In a press conference, Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas said voting was conducted successfully in the more than 85,000 clustered precincts across the country.

“Lahat nakapag-conduct ng botohan…. Wala kaming failure of election na natanggap ngayong 2019 and for us, isang magandang milestone namin iyon,” he said.

(All were able to conduct voting…. We have no failure of elections this 2019 and for us, that’s one notable milestone.)

The poll body’s pronouncement comes after it was forced to address several problems in this year’s elections, such as defective SD cards, malfunctioning vote-counting machines, bleeding pens, and delays in the release of the partial results.

Incidents of election-related violence also marred the polls, including twin blasts in Maguindanao, a shooting incident in Sulu, and alleged harassment of voters in Cebu City, among others.

“Kahit nagkaroon ng gano’ng insidente, walang failure of elections. Natuloy ‘yung election at natapos ng maayos,” Abas said.

(Even if there were incidents like that, there was no failure of elections. Elections took place and were completed in an orderly manner.)

In the 2016 polls, voting failed in several areas after logistical and technical concerns prevented some 19,000 voters from casting their ballots. In the event this happens, the Comelec conducts special elections for affected voters.

The Omnibus Election Code allows the holding of special elections “if, on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes, the election in any polling place has not been held on the date fixed.” – Rappler.com