MANILA -- The Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) in Hong Kong was marred by machine glitches, harassment and intimidation, despite the poll body’s claim that it was successful, a militant group said.
Gabriela Women's Party chairwoman Cynthia Abdon-Tellez said disenfranchisement and de-listing of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) seriously hampered the implementation of the OAV automated elections in Hong Kong.
Abdon-Tellez said around 140 names were discovered deleted in the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters.
"De-listing and exclusion were done without notice, making the OFWs feel frustrated with the OAV," she added.
She also accused members of the OAV secretariat of harassing Gabriela members and supporters for leafleting and hanging banners outside the election venue.
Norman Uy Carnay of Bayan-Hong Kong complained he was questioned for campaigning outside the OAV office.
The group claimed that poll officials couldn’t prohibit leafleting, as the area is no longer the jurisdiction of the Philippines.
Aside from reported harassment and intimidation, glitches also stalled the second day of absentee voting in Hong Kong after the precinct count optical scan machines (PCOS) used in two precincts malfunctioned.
A television report Sunday said the PCOS machines deployed in precincts 15 and 16 refused to accept ballots despite repeated tries by election officials.
The machine glitch delayed the voting process at the two precincts for almost an hour, said the television report. The Comelec then decided to transfer the voters to a different precinct.
Comelec officials said humidity inside the precinct might have affected the machines and the ballots.
Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said a window in the two precincts was left open, causing the problem. He, however, assured that the Comelec has back-up and contingency plans.
He said the PCOS machines started working properly after a few minutes.
Low turnout
Hong Kong and Singapore are two areas that implemented the automated absentee voting for the first time Saturday. More than 95,000 OFWs in Hong Kong are registered voters.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), however, said Sunday that the automated polls yielded a low turnout after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) started the overseas voting in the different Philippine embassies and consulates around the world.
As of 11 a.m. Sunday, some 4,141 absentee voters cast their ballots, with Hong Kong recording the highest numbers of voters’ turnout at 997, DFA said in a statement.
Making it to the top 10 are London (558), Riyadh (266), Chicago (242), Singapore (218), Jeddah (180), Berlin (144), Madrid (135), Bangkok (118), and Barcelona (117).
But the Comelec said the result was expected to pick up as the day progresses.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they expect this year’s turnout would be higher than in the previous elections.
First day result
He stressed that the first day result should not be used as a gauge in determining the results of the OAV.
"They have one month to vote so there is really a lot of time for them to vote," said Jimenez.
Singapore and Hong Kong are the only areas that will use the PCOS.
Some 46 embassies and consulates-general will use the voting-by-mail, while about 45 countries will allow personal voting.
Overseas voting is limited to a president, a vice president, 12 senators and a party-list organization.
The OAV voting of the 589,830 OFW voters will end on May 10.
90% ready
In the Philippines, meanwhile, Jimenez said preparations for the May 10 polls are nearing completion as the Comelec has claimed 90 percent readiness for the automated elections.
"Considering that all of the major components are already present, considering that all the major elements in conducting an election are already in place, I would say we are about 90 percent ready to conduct the elections," he said in an interview.
Jimenez said there are only minimal things that must need to be completed and some ballot boxes were already delivered in various areas.
"We are starting with the far-flung areas. Deliveries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), I believe, will start next week," said Jimenez, pointing out that 800 ballot boxes were already sent to Palawan.
Out of the 77,000 ballot boxes that are needed, more than 30,000 were already delivered in the country while 35 million of the 50.7 million ballots needed have been printed as of Sunday.
Also, training for the teachers who will serve as Board of Elections Inspectors (BEIs) was also completed and training of the Counting Canvassing System (CCS) operators is almost complete, Jimenez added.
"The BEIs are just waiting to be deployed. In fact, some of them are already deployed now because they are part of the testing and sealing," he pointed out.
The poll body, he said, has set a re-bidding for the purchase of indelible ink this week after the winning bidder-Texas Resources Corp failed to meet the standards during the testing.
On the case of other election paraphernalia such as folders and pens, Jimenez said this could come in late since these are easy to transport.
"Probably, we will ship them out towards the end of April since these are very minor and very easy to transport anyway," he said.
The poll official said that at present, the Comelec is focusing on the timely delivery of the election paraphernalia to its intended destination. (Kathrina Alvarez/MSN/PR/Sunnex)