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| The room where voters get help enrolling into the election system was packed today |
For the first time since online voting for overseas Filipinos began on April 13, there was a continuous flow of voters on the 18th floor of United Center building in Admiralty today, which was the last Sunday of the vote.
The designated enrolment and voting center opened as
early as 8am today and yesterday, to accommodate the expected surge from last-minute
voters.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The enrolment phase was originally set to end last
May 7, but was postponed to May 10, until the Commission on Elections decided
to move the deadline yet again to tomorrow, which will also mark the end of voting
for all Filipinos, whether based abroad or in the Philippines.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Vice Consul Jose Angelo Manuel, who is in charge of
administering the vote in Hong Kong, said at about 4pm today when the crowd had
begun to thin out, that the day’s turnout looked like the biggest ever.
However, unlike in the past when the Consulate would
freely give out information on each day’s turnout, VC Manuel said that Comelec
had informed them that such is not allowed under the law, as it could lead to “trending”
the election results.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
But he conceded Sunday had been particularly hectic
that he had to help with the enrolment of voters himself.
“It’s all hands on deck for us today,” he said.
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| The lobby of United Centre's 18th floor where the voting center is located |
But if one were to compare the day’s turnout with
those in previous elections, it would look like this year’s mid-term election
would see the smallest number of Filipino voters casting their vote.
This could be attributed to a number of reasons,
including Comelec’s failure to provide adequate information about the online
voting system, which is being held for the first time at Philippine posts
abroad, and was supposed to make voting easier for them.
Many voters also encountered difficulty in enrolling
their credentials, often because their identity documents could not be read by
the system. At least one longtime voter said it took her five hours to enroll and
vote, even after seeking help at the voting center.
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| Not-so-techy voters are taught how to create passwords - and retain them |
But the biggest turn-off could be the claims of early voters that the receipt for the ballots that they just cast contained the names of candidates they did not vote for.
Comelec has repeatedly debunked this claim, saying
the ballot could no longer be read by the voter once it is cast as a security
measure to prevent vote-buying. What appears as a jumble of letters after the
vote is cast is a code that only Comelec could encrypt during the counting of
ballots.
Overseas Filipinos voters could elect as many as 12
senators and one party-list, while those in the Philippines could also vote for
local officials, including their district’s representatives in Congress.
The election will officially end at 7pm tomorrow,
May 12.
