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Overseas voting ends today, with 60k turnout within target

09 May 2022

By Daisy C L Mandap

 

Only a few voters were around when polls closed at 5pm Sunday

Overseas voting for Filipinos abroad ends today, May 9, on the same day that up to 67 million people will also cast their ballots across the Philippines.

Today being a statutory holiday, the Consulate which is administering the vote, expects that enough voters will turn up at the Bayanihan Centre to boost the overall turnout to 60,000.

That would amount to nearly 65% of the total registered voter tally of 93,625 – a staggering figure, given the strict anti-pandemic restrictions currently in place in Hong Kong. 

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In 2016, when the last presidential election was held, the turnout reached about 45,000, or 49% of the more than 93,000 registered voters.

The last Sunday of voting yielded an additional 3,300 votes, pushing the tally so far to about 58,500. On Saturday, 1,600 people cast their votes.

Voting has been particularly brisk since Thursday, when dozens of Iglesia ni Cristo followers began casting their ballots after their church leaders in the Philippines released the names of candidates they are supporting.

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The church known to encourage its members to vote as a bloc, has been instrumental in keeping the voting momentum going in the past few days.

A member said more voters from their church should turn up today, this being a statutory holiday when foreign domestic workers are entitled to take the day off.

Among those who cast their votes on Sunday was Liezel Lao, who was earlier told her name was not in the certified list of voters after she had lined up for hours on Apr 10, the first day of overseas voting. 

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Luckily she had kept the receipt given her after she registered in August last year, and applied to have her name included.

At about noon yesterday, Lao happily shared a photo of her outside the Bayanihan Centre, saying she had just voted.

Lao managed to cast her vote on her last day-off in the week

According to Consul Bob Quintin who is deputized by the Commission on Elections to oversee the vote in Hong Kong, only a few people had the same problem as Lao this year. However, it took Comelec some time to authorize them to allow the person involved to vote.

He said the most number of complaints came from those who have been delisted for failing to vote in two consecutive elections but are still insisting on being allowed to vote.

On the flipside are former FDWs here who won’t be able to vote today because they did not ask for their registration to be transferred back to their hometown.

Consul Quintin said once delisted, the voter will have to register again during the period indicated. Those who have moved back to the Philippines, on the other hand, should apply to get their registration transferred to near their place of residence so they can resume voting there.

Consul Quintin and some volunteers get ready for the hours-long canvassing
Voting in the Philippines and abroad will end at 7pm today. Immediately after, the Special Board of Canvassers of the Consulate shall convene to receive the election returns from each precinct and to canvass those that have already been received.

As in past elections, poll watchers from the different political parties will gather at Bayanihan to observe the canvassing of votes, and leave only until all the votes have been tallied, a process that ordinarily lasts until the early hours of the next morning.

 

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