Overseas voting for Filipino expats begins in Bahrain

Manama : The month-long Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) for the Philippine presidential and vice presidential election began here yesterday.

Around 18,000 Bahrain-based Filipinos are expected to cast their votes in the next four weeks.

Hundreds of Filipinos visited the Philippines embassy yesterday as the OAV commenced yesterday morning. According to Philippines Ambassador Alfonso A. Ver, the embassy expects to welcome around 600 voters every day for the next 30 days. 

“We have approximately 18,000 registered voters and it is a one-month voting period. May 9 is the election day in the Philippines, but the overseas Filipinos are granted one month. We will have the votes with us here and it will be sent to Philippines only on May 9,” he said.

“We have an automated system to aid the voting process. The voter fills the form and it is then fed into the electronic system,” Ver told DT News. 

The voting began at 8am yesterday and in the first three hours, 200 people voted. “We have had a good turnout, which is not surprising considering the fact that there is more than 18,000 registered voters. Thankfully, we have enough staff to cope with the high turnout; in addition we also have volunteers,” he said. 

The Ambassador urged the Filipino community to exercise their right to vote. “I hope all the registered voters come here, as it is their right to vote,” he said. 

The campaign manager for the poll watchers, Ramsudin Ulangkya Macarao, said that high standards are expected from those who are monitoring the polls. “We will make sure everything goes smoothly, we have a good team with high standards when it comes to monitoring the elections. I can see that things have considerably improved from the last time, it is moving quicker, it’s well organised,” he said. 

Saga Azis Micawayan, another poll watcher, said that he hopes that the elections come at the right time for the Philippines. 

“Like every other country, we have our issues and I think this is the right time to address them. With the election, there will be a renewed focus on the challenges we face,” he said.