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MANILA, Philippines?The Philippine embassy in Singapore and the Commission on Elections are urging all the 31,851 Filipinos who are registered overseas absentee voters in the city-state are urged to vote for the May general elections starting April 10.
In a news release, the embassy said Elections Commissioner Armando Velasco visited Singapore this week to brief the Filipino community there on the features of the automated polls.
During the briefing, Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda C. Cruz reminded registered voters to vote as early as possible.
?I call on all registered overseas absentee voters to exercise their right of suffrage early, preferably during the first two weeks of voting, instead of waiting for the last week, to avoid long queues in our small embassy,? Cruz said.
Singapore, which has the second highest number of registered overseas absentee voters in Asia, and Hong Kong are the only two places where automated polls will be held. Overseas absentee voting for the rest of the Philippine foreign service will be either postal or manual.
Overseas absentee voting will be for 30 days, from 10 April to 10 May 2010.
Nine Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) devices will be used for the automated polls in the city-state.
During his consultation with the Filipino community, Velasco cited the following key features and advantages of automated polls:
* As the names of all the candidates are pre-printed on the ballot, there is no need to write their names on the ballot, minimizing spelling errors.
* The voter only needs to shade with a special pen the blank oval beside the names of the chosen candidates, and insert the accomplished ballot in the PCOS.
* Counting and canvassing of votes will be automated and done by the PCOS, ensuring accuracy and speedy results.
* At the end of the 30-day voting period, the results will be transmitted to the Comelec in the Philippines within a few hours after the close of voting.
* Overseas absentee voters can only vote for the national elective positions of president, vice president, 12 senators, and one party-list representative, but not for local positions.
Registered voters in Singapore will be required to vote in person at the Philippine embassy at 20 Nassim Road. The embassy will be open for voting for 30 straight days (April 10 to May 10), including weekends, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on the last day of voting when it will close at 6 p.m.
In order to vote, voters must bring their valid Philippine passport and identification card (PR card, S-Pass, E-pass, or Work Permit). Before proceeding to the embassy, the voter must check if his/her name is in the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters (CLOAV) found in the Comelec website. Only overseas absentee voters whose name appears in the CLOAV will be allowed to vote.
