Dubai: It’s all systems go at the Philippine Consulate-General in Dubai for the automated elections on Saturday as the final testing of the voting machines on Wednesday rendered accurate results.
The month-long Overseas Absentee Voting for Filipinos in the UAE will begin on April 13 for the May 13 mid-term elections. Automated voting is being held in the Middle East for the first time, three years after automated elections were conducted in the Philippines.
“All the machines tested accurately as per our experience today, which means we’re ready to start the elections on Saturday,” Vice Consul Geronimo Suliguin told reporters on Wednesday.
Six primary and two contingency Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines are stationed in Dubai. Three primary and two contingency machines are in Abu Dhabi where a similar testing was conducted on Tuesday.
Voting starts on Saturday at 8am and will close on May 13 at 3pm. Registered voters can cast their ballots anytime from 8am to 12pm and 4pm to 8pm every day, including weekends and holidays, to accommodate voters after their office hours.
With the new system, voters need to completely shade the egg-shaped space allotted before the names of the candidates of their choice. Only 12 senators and one party list group can be shaded, otherwise the ballot will be deemed invalid.
“It’s okay to have 12 senators or less, but do not exceed the required number as the machine will automatically consider the ballot as void,” Suliguin explained.
Suliguin said his office plans to reach out to offices in Dubai where there is a heavy concentration of Filipinos so they can participate in the polls.
“We can go to where they are — either in their office or accommodation — as long as there’s a minimum of 100 voters per area. Or they can transport them here by groups and we will accommodate them,” Suliguin said.
Suliguin said he also plans to bring the PCOS machines during their occular mission to Fujairah on April 19-20 so Filipinos there can vote as well.
Meanwhile during the machine testing, Commission on Elections representative Jannice Caneba from Manila allayed fears of some groups that the PCOS machines are inaccurate. Caneba said a random manual audit in 2010 showed that the level of accuracy of the machines is 99+ per cent. The same findings were displayed in Dubai on Wednesday.
“They should not worry about these things. Instead, they should show up and vote and not leave it at the last minute. That’s the most important thing they can do,” Atty Caneba told Gulf News.
The PCOS machines are sealed and kept secure by 24-hour security. Continuous monitoring will also be done through the consulate’s security cameras.
