Group asks Comelec to include party-list results in random manual audit

Several individuals are asking the Commission on Elections to conduct a random manual audit (RMA) of votes for the party-list election.

A group led by former Commission on Human Rights chair and former Akbayan Partylist Representative Etta Rosales said the RMA is necessary due to the alleged “widespread instances of discrepancy between the votes in the ballot and the result reflected in the vote verification paper audit trail (VVPAT.)”

They also cited the “disenfranchisement of our votes brought about by malfunctioning of vote counting machines (VCM) and SD cards, and reports of misprinted ballots.”

Comelec Commissioner Luie Guia, who is in charge of the random manual audit, earlier said the RMA will only double check and tally votes for senator, congressman and mayor.

But the group argued that “party-list representatives should be subject to the same process of verification since proclaimed nominees are member of the House of Representatives, co-equal to district representatives whose votes are subject to random manual audit.”

The group also petitioned that the Comelec allow representatives form party-list groups to witness the RMA of party-list votes. — MDM, GMA News