The Electoral Commission has defended the precision of the new electronic vote counting system, which it said would guarantee a correct result reflecting the electorate’s vote.

In a statement on Thursday, the commission said it was satisfied with the system’s accuracy, and would be continuing tweaks in the coming weeks, as well as further tests in the presence of political parties “to ensure a more efficient system for the benefit of all concerned”.

“The Commission is convinced of the system’s precision and of achieving its objective to issue the final result of the European Parliament election much earlier than ever before,” it said.

The European Parliament and local council elections scheduled for May 25 are set to be the first to use an electronic system to count votes, drastically cutting the time taken to reach a final result.

But the PN expressed its concern in November that the system could give rise to electoral fraud, after a rocky initial test which saw 40% of ballot sheets rejected, as well as reports that the system had been modified by the company responsible without the electoral commission’s consent.

The commission said the final result of the European Parliament vote was expected late on May 26, a day after the election, or early on May 27. The results of the 68 local council elections will emerge over the following days, up to May 31.