Swing vote

WITH over 1.8 million Filipino overseas absentee voters across the world, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) strongly believes that these Filipinos will play a major role in influencing the results of the Philippine national elections in May.
Republic Act No. 9189, also known as “The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003,” provides a system of honest and orderly overseas absentee voting that upholds the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot. Through this, the government ensures equal opportunity to all qualified Philippine citizens living abroad, so that they can exercise this fundamental right.
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said that overseas absentee voters may help decide who the next Philippine president will be. He cited the victory of former President George Bush’s victory against Al Gore as an example of how overseas votes became a gamechanger.
Rafael Seguis, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for civilian security and consular concerns, agreed and added that Filipino absentee voters may also influence family members.
“Since overseas Filipinos are considered to be their family’s bread winners, it is not a stretch to surmise that each overseas Filipino can influence the vote of at least three family members. Thus, the 1.3 million active registered overseas voters are roughly equivalent to 5.2 million votes. This is a definite game changer for Philippine politics,” he said.
Seguis explained that if each of them influences at least three family members, that could bring in an additional 5.2 million votes to their preferred candidates.
While the number of registered Filipino voters abroad is strong, apathy is one of the biggest challenges Comelec sees as the elections draws near. Because of this, the DFA urges Filipino voters abroad to spare “20 minutes” of their time and participate in this year’s elections.
Recent Comelec records showed that the turnout of overseas absentee voters in the 2007 and 2013 midterm polls were both only 16 percent. With so much at stake in the coming elections, officials are appealing to Filipino voters to exercise their right to vote. (AJPress)