 |
| May Day queue in Bayanihan (photo by Marites Palma) |
By The SUN
Another big turnout in the ongoing overseas voting for
Filipinos in Hong Kong on May 1 has raised
hopes the total tally could at least match the number of votes cast in the
previous mid-term election in 2013.
According to Consul Fatima Quintin, the turnout for May Day
was just short of 3,500, raising the total figure to more than 20,000 so far.
That represents nearly 23% of the 87,441 registered voters.
If the previous Sunday’s record tally of 4,200 is to be used
as gauge, the final result could approximate the 28,258 recorded for the 2013
mid-term election, with two more Sundays to go before the voting ends on May
13.
Consul General Antonio Morales had earlier urged more
Filipinos to vote, expressing fears the turnout could dip to only about 24% of
the total registered voters.
According to Consul Quintin, the other good news for the day
was that no major issue was recorded throughout the day, not with the vote
counting machines or with voters protesting about some anomaly.
In the first two weeks of the election, some of the VCMs
malfunctioned, prompting Congen Morales to ask for replacements from the
Commission on Elections.
Staff administering the vote have, however, found that blow-trying
the ballots during humid weather has kept them from being rejected by the
machines.
Another recurring problem concerns ballots spoiled by
overvoting. Most of the voters involved did not challenge the outcome shown in
their ballot receipts, but a few have decided to file protests, which were duly
passed on by the Consulate to the Comelec.
 |
| The line starts across Bayanihan (from Marites Palma) |
To beef up the voter turnout, Quintin has urged those
registered in other places abroad but who are now already in Hong
Kong, to request Comelec through them, to allow them to vote here.
About 3,000 voters whose registration were deactivated for
failing to vote in two consecutive elections, can also apply to Comelec to get
their names back on the official list so they can cast their ballot.
===
I-TRY MO ITO, KATRIBO!
Mas madali nang tawagan ang mga advertiser natin dito. Pindutin lang ang kanilang ad at lalabas ang automatic dialer. Isa pang pindot ay matatawagan mo ang advertiser na hindi na kailangang i-dial ang numero nila. I-try mo!
