KUWAIT CITY, April 10: The first day of the 30-day voting period for overseas absentee voting for the 2010 Philippine national elections opened Saturday at the Philippine Embassy in Jabriya.
Guillermo Bantugan, a certified public accountant and his wife Elvira were the first among registered Filipino absentee voters in Kuwait to cast votes for candidates of their choice among those vying for national positions from president, vice president, senator and party list representatives. A total of 143 Filipino expatriates voted on the first day.
Guillermo Bantugan deferred to his wife and gave her the privilege of being the first to cast her vote.
There are 10 candidates for president, 8 for vice president, 61 for senator and 187 party list (a group or party formed to represent and give voice to marginal sectors of society, i,e, small entrepreneurs, drivers, women’s advocacy groups, migrant workers, etc).
According to Philippine Embassy administrative officer and election supervisor Taha Guinomla, there are 20,256 registered absentee voters among OFWs in Kuwait which he said was divided with each of the five polling precincts inside the embassy premises handling 4,000 plus voters.
Guinomla held a final briefing for members of the SBEI or Special Board of Election Inspectors prior to the opening of the polls to go over the correct procedures to ensure everything would run smoothly but despite that, there was still some confusion with voters, particularly those who came during the first hour, being made to wait for poll members to produce an official list of candidates as this was not available then; the list eventually arrived by courier from the Philippine Electoral Commission a half hour later.
Unlike the election in the Philippines and select locations overseas like Hong Kong and Singapore, which will not start until May 10, 2010 and automated, with the entire list of candidates already printed on the ballot, the voting process in other overseas locations is still done manually-meaning, voters fill in the names of candidates they chose from a list, on the ballots by hand.
Despite earlier advisories relating to the start of absentee voting on Saturday April 10, voters came in trickles and picked up a little around midday with an average of 20 voters having cast their ballots in each of the five polling precinct. “I hope more will come before the polls close at 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon,” says Guinomla.
Guinomla reiterated his call to all registered absentee voters in Kuwait that polling is open from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. daily Friday to Saturday until May 10, 2010 when the polls will close at 1:00 pm.
Attempts by this reporter to conduct an exit poll petered out as voters demurred when asked who they voted for, saying they’d rather keep things close to their chest until the final outcome is known, despite being prodded and told it will not change anything since they have already cast their votes.