Commission on Elections Commissioner George Garcia hopes that all registered overseas Filipino voters will not miss their opportunity to cast their ballot.
According to Comelec data, the total number of overseas voters for the 2022 local and national elections is estimated at 1.697 million.
In the UAE, there are 309,097 total registered voters. Of this number, there are 191,257 voters in Dubai and the Northern Emirates; 98,256 land-based voters in Abu Dhabi and the Western Regions, and a total of 19,584 registered as seafarers.
With this number, Garcia urged Filipinos living abroad to utilize their right to vote. Overseas absentee voters may mark their ballots starting April 10 to May 9.
“Wag niyo po sanang balewalain ito, ito po sana yung pagkakataon niyo na makapaghalal kayo ng lider para sa kinabukasan natin (Please don’t ignore this, this is your chance to elect a leader for our future),” Garcia uttered.
The Comelec declared earlier that it is ready to facilitate the local and overseas absentee voting for the upcoming elections, including the voting system for individuals deprived of liberties.
“‘All systems go’ na po kami patungkol sa absentee voting (when it comes to absentee voting),” the Comelec commissioner said.
Meanwhile, Garcia reported that there are more than 7.229 million deactivated voters.
“Nakakapanghinayang po na madaming natanggal sa nag-apply o hindi na approve dahil hindi pala rehistradong botante o kaya naman po, ang iba nating mga kapatid sa media ay hindi nakaboto nang dalawang magkasunod na eleksyon so wala na po silang registration. In the meantime, they are deactivated,” he said.
