UPDATE: Bongbong Marcos Leads in Partial, Unofficial Count
Filipinos will elect their new leaders on Monday as the country holds its fifth automated national elections since 2010, making transmission and canvassing of votes quicker and proclamation of winners possible within days after the polls close.
The automated process also allows partial and unofficial results to be broadcast a few hours after the elections on television and on social media, from which voters can monitor the outcome of the polls.
The canvassing of votes will be administered by the Board of Canvassers or BOC to be appointed by the Commission on Elections in each municipality, city, district, or province in the country.
The BOC will convene at 1 p.m. on May 9 in an area designated as the canvassing center to initiate the consolidation and canvassing system that will be used to count the votes.
READ: From President-Elect to Inauguration, How the Winner Assumes Power
How vote results are transmitted
Transmission of votes from the vote counting machines will begin as soon as voting in the polling precinct is closed.
Votes will be electronically transmitted to the city or municipal BOC, the Comelec's central server, and to the transparency server from which media organizations can access partial and unofficial results.
Votes that cannot be electronically transmitted will be stored in an SD card which will be given to the BOC for canvassing.
The BOC will then monitor the transmission of results until such time that a winner can be proclaimed. Certificates of canvass of votes from across the country will be accepted by the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers.
Who has access to the election results
Each registered political party, coalition, party-list group and candidate has the right to be present and to counsel during the canvassing of votes.
One watcher for each registered political party, coalition, party-list group and candidate will also be allowed inside every canvassing center.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, as the Comelec's citizens arm, and other organizations with prior authority from the commission will also be allowed to send two watchers in the canvassing center.
If the space in a canvassing center reserved for watchers is insufficient, preference will be given to watchers from the dominant majority and minority parties as determined by the Comelec and the PPCRV.
For the 2022 elections, the dominant majority party is the PDP-Laban faction headed by Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi, while the dominant minority is the Nacionalista Party led by former Senate President Manny Villar.
Where to see election results
As soon as votes have been transmitted, partial and unofficial results based on official data may be accessed through media organizations that have been given access to the transparency server.
A total of 20 media organizations, composed of eight television networks, four radio stations, five newspapers, and three online news sites have been given accreditation to the transparency media server located at the University of Sto. Tomas, as follows:
Television networks
- ABS-CBN
- CNN Philippines
- Net25
- TV5
- PTV4
- SMNI
- UNTV
- GMA
Radio
- Bombo Radyo
- FEBC
- DZBB
- MBC
Newspapers
- Manila Bulletin
- Philippine Daily Inquirer
- Philippine Star
- Manila Standard
- Daily Tribune
Online news sites
- Inquirer Interactive
- Philstar.com
- Rappler
Candidates who received the highest number of votes will be proclaimed winners. The Comelec had said that for local government posts, winning candidates can be proclaimed as early as a few hours after the voting period ends.
For the presidency and vice presidency, the proclamation of the winning candidates will depend on Congress who is tasked under the 1987 Constitution to canvass the election results for these two positions
In the May 9, 2016 elections, the winners of these two positions became clear as early as a few hours after the polls closed, with President Rodrigo Duterte garnering 38.56% of the total votes by 1 a.m. of May 10 based on quick counts using official data from counting machines.
READ MORE:
Voting Starts in Historic Election for New President Post-Pandemic
Here's How the May 9, 2022 Elections Will Go
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