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Just for the asking: Why is the OAV a failure in 27 countries?

Reference: Belarmino Dabalos Saguing bdsaguing@gmail.com mobile +39 3356880613

News item: Pinoys in 26 countries snub absentee voting

Filipino voters in 26 countries have snubbed this year’s mid-term elections by not voting during the month-long Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV), the Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), disclosed yesterday.

During the canvassing, Comelec Commissioner Elias Yusoph has announced that “there were no voters” in 26 countries. OAV covers only the senatorial race and the party-list system.

There are only 710 registered voters in the 26 countries that were covered by postal voting.

These are Columbia (6 voters), Netherlands (5), Suriname (5), Venezuela (350), Costa Rica (4), El Salvador (4), Honduras (14), Dominican Republic (22), Panama (7), Ecuador (5), Peru (8), Bulgaria (2), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2), Estonia (1), Latvia (1), Burundi (1), Congo (128), Madagascar (223), Malawi (2), Mauritius (6), Rwanda (1), Somalia (1), Eritrea (28), Djibouti (43), Zambia (241), and Macedonia (10).

 http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/05/15/13/pinoys-26-countries-snub-absentee-voting 

It is strange and disconcerting, if true, the sector who is in dire need of representation in the Philippine Law Making body has refused to vote. There must be serious reasons for the dismal low turnin of voters.

The experience of the voters in countries where Filipinos actually participated in this year's midterm election is a negative point for the COMELEC. 

Delays in the sending of the ballots in countries where Postal Voting are used,with the delays in the delivery of the ballots to the voters was well noted in Italy, for an example. Cases of ballots delivered to voters hours or even days after the last day of OAV election period, (the writer has a first-hand experience of this). The COMELEC's failure to give clear instructions to the voters on the alternatives if and when such problem occur is also noticed. News of glitches and other problems in the PCOS machines... you name it we have it.

The closure of Embassies in some countries, according to the DFA, to economize in the expenses of maintaining its foreign posts, andthe decision by the COMELEC to use postal voting has exacted its tolls on the Overseas Absentee Voting. 

But one thing is very evident: The voters are wary of the notorious frauds in our elections, and corruptions in our electoral system. Thery have lost faith and trust on the whole electoral system of the country.

Theb failure or refusal of many Overseas Filipinos tp vote cannot be bllamed entirely to them. The Government of the Philippines must re-examine and reform it. the whole electotoral system. There are no other way to encourage the overseas voters to participate except a guaranteed frauyd-free election.

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