By The SUN
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| CG Raly Tejada (in suit) presides over canvassing of votes with Labour Attache Mel Dizon and Deputy Congen Germie Usudan |
Overseas voting ended in Hong Kong on Monday with an
impressive 65% of the more than 93,000 registered voters turning out amid a
raging coronavirus contagion.
The turnout rate is nearly twice as high as the
overall figure of about 32.3% for all Philippine overseas posts that the Commission
on Elections had reported on the last day of the OV.
According to Consul General Raly Tejada, the last day
of voting saw 1,700 people casting their ballots, which pushed the overall tally
to around 60,200.
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That’s about 15,000 votes more than that registered in
the 2016 presidential election, when 45,561 votes were cast, or about 49% of the
total voting population of more than 93,000.
However, the all-time
record turnout remains the 66,500 votes cast in the first overseas voting in
2004, when manual voting was still in force. The figure represented 75% of the
89,000 registered voters that year.
Consul Bob Quintin, who
has been deputized by Comelec to oversee the overseas voting in Hong Kong, said
the near-record tally was “community driven” as it was achieved with the help
of volunteers, poll watchers, voters and many other members of the Filipino
community.
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“Dahil sa suporta ninyo kaya natin nakamit ito,” he said of the
month-long process. (We achieved this with your support).
He thanked in particular
voters who showed discipline and extreme tolerance in queuing up for hours just
to be able to cast their ballots under the watchful eye of the police.
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| Consul Bob Quintin says the 2022 OV was 'a success in all respects' |
The initial hiccup of having
only five vote counting machines on the first week of the election was
immediately remedied so that people did not have to wait for a long time just
to be able to vote, said Quintin.
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“We addressed that
immediately so that no big damage was done,” he said.
The same was true for
two VCMs that conked out midway through the vote because after they were
replaced, all the machines held up for the rest of the 30-day voting period,
according to him.
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| Poll watchers, volunteers and staff pose for posterity |
In line with the Comelec’s
directive, polling at Bayanihan was ended at 7pm, to coincide with the cut-off
time for similar elections being held across the Philippines.
But as early as 6:30pm
Consulate staff and volunteers were already dismantling the green tents that
served as temporary shelter for voters lining up inside Bayanihan, just before
they were given their precinct assignments.
With just a few minutes to
spare before 7pm, a Filipina showed up with her two kids in tow, and officially
became the last person to vote in the 2022 overseas vote.
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| The last voter showed up a few minutes before 7pm, her two children in tow |
Taking an early lead in
the presidential contest was the son of the late dictator and also his namesake, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who garnered
more than 24,000 of the votes; compared with just over 3,000 for his closest
rival, Vice President Leonor Gerona Robredo.
In the vice-presidential
race, Mayor Sara Duterte led by an even bigger margin over Senator Francis
Pangilinan, who came next.
Marcos’ senatorial candidates
also led the vote, with actor Robin Padilla in top place, followed by senator Loren
Legarda and TV host Raffy Tulfo in third place.
A live coverage of the
tallying of votes at Bayanihan can be viewed at the Facebook page of the
Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong: https://www.facebook.com/PHLinHK
