By Raynald C Rivera
DOHA: More than 4,000 Filipinos in Qatar have cast votes in the first week of month-long overseas absentee voting (OAV) for Philippine national elections.
With 24 more days to go for OAV to end, the number of voters has surpassed the turnout in the 2013 elections.
“After one week, over 4,000 voters have cast votes. They represent more than 9 percent of the registered voters. We have exceeded the turnout in 2013 elections,” Philippine Ambassador Wilfredo C Santos told The Peninsula yesterday. “We are thankful and pleased with the turnout because it underscores the strong interest of overseas Filipinos in these very important elections.”
The last OAV saw very low turnout in many countries. In Qatar, 2,800 out of 23,260 registered voters took part in the 2013 elections. There are over 44,000 registered voters in Qatar for this year’s elections which are expected to witness the highest turnout since OAV began in 2004.
Yesterday saw the highest number of voters during the week, with over 1,100 arriving at the embassy, prompting it to extend the process by two more hours to accommodate them, including some from far-off places.
“Our challenge is to manage the flow of people because of the number. We expect the number to increase further, especially during weekends. We expect around 36 percent turnout at the end of the elections,” said Santos. Compared to other countries where OAV is being held, Filipino voters in Qatar are more engaged and their number is encouraging. On the third day of the elections, Doha ranked fifth among 82 Philippine posts overseas in terms of voter turnout. “Filipinos have strong interest in the elections and come out in great numbers to perform their civic duty. This is a positive development as overseas Filipinos show great interest in choosing the next leaders to take the reins of the country,” added Santos.
Social media has played a major role in making overseas Filipinos more involved in the elections. “I think social media is a catalyst for this positive development, providing the necessary platform for overseas Filipinos to be connected and know the platforms of the candidates at the same time to be more cognizant of the importance of this poll exercise,” he explained. During the elections, the embassy will be open every day to receive voters from 8am to 5pm from Sunday to Thursday and 9am to 5pm on Friday and Saturday. On the last day of OAV on May 9, votes can be cast from 7am to noon. To cast vote, a registered voter must present his passport or Qatar ID for verification.
The Peninsula
