Kontra Daya to Comelec: Extend voting hours beyond 7 p.m.

Election watchdog Kontra Daya on Monday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to extend the voting hours due to several issues faced by voters on Election Day.

In a statement posted on its Twitter page, Kontra Daya called on the Comelec “to consider extending the voting hours beyond 7:00 p.m.”

“The breakdown of VCMs and the long lines, among other issues, have affected the turnaround time in voting. Extending voting hours can help prevent disenfranchisement,” the polls watchdog said.

Long lines and issues with vote-counting machines (VCM) marred the first few hours of voting on Monday, Election Day.

QUICK STATEMENT: Kontra Daya calls on the COMELEC to consider extending the voting hours beyond 7:00 p.m. The breakdown of VCMs and the long lines, among other issues, have affected the turnaround time in voting. Extending voting hours can help prevent disenfranchisement.

— Kontra Daya (@kontradaya) May 9, 2022

In an interview with GMA News, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said there are technicians assigned to fix problematic VCMs.

"Habang kinukumpuni ng ating technician 'yun pong vote-counting machine na nasira ay dapat po ang lahat ng balota ay kunin sa botante," he said.

"At kapag natapos na ang pag-aayos ng VCM ay saka na siya (balota) ifi-feed sa harapan ng lahat ng watcher at lahat ng observers na nandun sa loob ng presinto."

Garcia said VCMs that can't be fixed by the technicians will be replaced.—AOL, GMA News