PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to probe the alleged glitches in the last elections to put to rest allegations of cheating.

He was particularly referring to the problematic vote counting machines (VCMs) that delayed either the casting of votes in some precincts or their transmission to the poll body’s transparency server.

“I hope that the Comelec would also find time to investigate. Just to disabuse the minds of those people na may dayaan (that there was cheating),” the Chief Executive said in his prerecorded “Talk to the People” public briefing aired on Thursday.

The poll body was called out during and after the May 9 elections over the old and malfunctioning machines, which forced some voters to surrender their accomplished ballots to the electoral board for a “batch feeding” once the VCM became operational or has been replaced.

There were also complaints of corrupted SD (secure digital) cards.

The Comelec, however, brushed off the withering criticisms as “isolated cases.”

Duterte enjoined the public to keep a close watch on the process until the official results have been declared and the winners proclaimed.

“Once the will of the people has finally been made known, and all the winners have been officially proclaimed, we will begin the important process of transition of power to our new set of leaders,” he said.