Abalos made this pledge as he lamented the claim of an unnamed Comelec official that next year’s elections are headed for disaster due to poor information dissemination, systemic weakness and lack of preparation time.
"People should not predict these things," Abalos said told journalists in a news forum yesterday. "After all, the test of the pudding is in the eating. So don’t condemn us before we start."
To allay fears of a possible electoral disaster next year, Abalos said, "I promise that results will be known in five hours."
He said this will be made possible through the use of 1,991 automated counting machines purchased by the Comelec for use in cities and municipalities nationwide.
These counting machines, he said, will speed up the counting of ballots and "results will already be known by 12 midnight on the day of the elections. "Results in Metro Manila and other key cities will be known immediately," he said.
The South Korean-made counting machines are capable of counting over 60 votes per minute but, Abalos said, the number of votes to be counted will be reduced to 40 votes per minute to improve accuracy.
Big cities needing more than one counting machine and have the financial capability to buy their own will be allowed to do so provided the counting machines are inspected by experts from the Comelec and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).