Comelec prints over 92% of election ballots, aims to finish by weekend

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Tuesday that it has printed over 92 percent of the ballot requirements for the upcoming May midterm polls.

This amounts to approximately 61 million ballots, with only about 3 million remaining to be printed and around 34.5 million verified so far.

Comelec chairman George Garcia stated in an interview Thursday that they expect to complete printing by Friday night or Saturday morning, aiming for a total of 69 million ballots.

Garcia emphasized the importance of verifying at least half of the number of ballots printed daily to meet their self-imposed deadline and said verification will continue until April.

The National Printing Office (NPO) and Comelec's service provider, Miru Systems, are printing the official ballots after the process was temporarily suspended due to a Supreme Court order on January 27.

Comelec is accelerating its efforts and deploying additional machines and personnel to ensure timely and accurate preparation for the elections.