Doha: Strong turnout of Filipino overseas voters in Qatar has been seen on the first three days of the month-long Philippines overseas voting, with people lining up as early as 2am to cast their votes.
In a Facebook comment below a Philippine embassy post, Fatima Nanz said she was at the Embassy early morning at 2:30am, straight after her work, to vote.
“Thank you for the good service, to the people who also came early and didn’t mind the queue even there’s a small commotion. This is a small sacrifice for us to vote.”
Voters also commended the efficiency of the embassy for the conduct of the elections.
Tjoy Calo in a Facebook comment said: “Thank you Philippine Embassy Qatar for the fast and efficient voting procedures! And thanks to all our Kababayans (Filipinos) for being patient and cooperative.” Voters Wendell Malenab, Zans Sardinia and first time voter Tammy Madriaga praised the smooth voting and assistance at the embassy.
Meanwhile, Estila Juntilla Sarmiento said it’s a good feeling to be able to vote after six years. The last elections was in 2016 for executive and legislative branches as well.
In a statement, the Philippines Embassy said the office has three polling precincts which will cater to over 40,000 registered voters in Qatar. “Duly accredited poll watchers from concerned political parties were in attendance at the opening of Voting Counting Machines (VCMs), during the voting hours, and at the closing of the VCMs.”
On the first day, the voting hours were extended until 5pm because of an hour delay in the morning on VCM procedural requirements.
The overseas voting will run until May 9 which marks the Election Day in the Philippines. The embassy will be open every day from 7am to 4pm for voting purposes.
Overseas voters are advised to bring either a copy of Philippine passport and/or a copy of Qatar ID to be allowed to vote. They may only vote for president, vice-president, 12 senators and a party list group.
In total, there are 1,697,215 registered overseas absentee voters, the Commission on Elections said. Of the number, 1,023,637 will vote in-person, while 556,760 will mail their ballot, and the remaining 116,818 may choose either option.
Dubai in UAE has the highest number of overseas voter at 191,779, followed by Riyadh in Saudi Arabia at 98,403; third is Abu Dhabi in UAE at 98,403; fourth is Hong Kong with 93,886; while fifth is USA with 39,048.
The Embassy, meanwhile, has said the voting registration for this year’s elections has ended which lasted for two years and two weeks.
