THE national and local elections Monday, May 9, have pushed through in Basilan despite attempts by some candidates and their supporters to disrupt the electoral process in some areas of the province.

Lawyer Vidzfar Julie, Basilan provincial election supervisor, said that in a clustered precinct at Tipo-Tipo Central School, a supporter of a candidate doused a bundle of official ballots with indelible ink around 7 a.m. Monday, May 9.

But Julie said the election pushed through since only four of the official ballots were spoiled.

"Luckily, they (electoral board members) were able to save most of the ballots," Julie said.

He said that over a hundred official ballots were spoiled as these were snatched and soaked in water on another precinct also in Tipo-Tipo Central School.

He said that it happened after almost a hundred registered voters have already cast their votes. The perpetrators of both incidents were clad with face mask and baseball caps.

"Once we will know who the perpetrators are, we will not hesitate to file case against them," Julie said.

He said the snatching of ballots appeared to have been well-planned. (SunStar Zamboanga)