Overseas voting in Riyadh yields low turnout

No more than seven percent of the total number of Filipino registered voters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia cast their votes during the first week of the overseas voting, according to the Philippine embassy.

Voter turnout at the International Philippine School in Al Khobar was over nine percent of the certified list of overseas voters.

The embassy concluded the first week of the 30-day overseas voting at its grounds and at the school, both under the jurisdiction of the Philippine embassy in Riyadh.

As the voter turnout was lower than expected, the embassy urged all registered voters in Saudi Arabia to cast their votes early and not wait until May 9.

The overseas voting started on April 9 at the embassy grounds for registered voters in Riyadh and Central and Northern provinces, and at the school for voters in the eastern province.

There are 113,895 registered voters in the list of the embassy and 33,926 in the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Al Khobar.

Ambassador Ezzedin Tago called on all registered overseas voters in Saudi Arabia anew to cast their votes early and avoid the crowd on the last day of the elections.

Tago is hoping the voter turnout will increase.

“The embassy was ready to accommodate more voters every day than the actual turnout. I hope more Filipinos in Saudi Arabia will vote in the coming days,” he said.

Campaign ban for OAV

An official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the law mandates the campaign ban on overseas Filipino voters.

Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim was reacting to a case filed with the Supreme Court by New York-based businesswoman Loida Nicolas-Lewis, seeking to stop the poll body from implementing the campaign ban.

Lim said it was not the poll body, but the law that sanctioned the campaign ban amid the ongoing overseas absentee voting.

“Comelec is here to implement laws related to elections. It cannot violate the law,” said Lim, head of the Comelec office for overseas voting.

Lewis said that since partisan activities are allowed locally until the May 9 polls, campaigning should not be banned abroad.

Lim said the Omnibus Election Code provides states that campaigning is not allowed, once the overseas voting starts.

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