Philippines election turnout 'very promising'

Cebu City: The turnout of the Philippines' first automated elections was "very promising", said Comelec Chairman Jose Melo in a press conference on Monday, as millions turned up to vote in polling stations across the country despite some hiccups in the voting process.

Voting has been extended until 7pm (3pm UAE time) after reports reached the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that long lines have built up at polling stations and that some voters were taking up to 30 minutes to vote.

Polls opened at 7am and were initially scheduled to close at 6pm. Polling stations are expected to close an hour late to accommodate those who are still in the queue and within 30 metres of polling statins by 6pm.

Crowds quickly built up at polling precincts within an hour after polls opened. Voter verification, which was a manual process, was widely seen as one of the main causes of long queues at voting stations.

At the Don Vicente Rama Memorial High School in Basak Pardo, Cebu City, voters were given priority numbers running to the hundreds. Many voters had to wait up to four hours before being served by Board of Election Inspectors at their respective polling stations.

Joshua Nacario, a 22-year-old nursing graduate, told Gulf News he had already secured a priority number early in the morning, but was still waiting for his turn at 1pm.

Priority, however, was given to senior citizens, who did not have to wait in line. Jesusa Gabuya, 73, told Gulf News that she finished casting her vote in less than ten minutes because she already knew which candidates to vote for. She said she was "well treated" at the polling station and was happy that the automated polling process ran smoothly.

Lourdes Tolosa, principal of the Don Vicente Rama Memorial Elementary School, in Basak Pardo, Cebu City, said that the 19 automated voting machines sent to the school were functioning well. She said the main complaint from voters involved missing names in the voters' list.

Tolosa said that many of the complaints involved first-time voters and voters who have been disqualified because they failed to vote in the last two elections.

Meanwhile, voting was generally peaceful in Cebu City and there were no reports of violence on election day. Police officers were visible in polling centres.

They will secure the vote counting machines and will stay in polling centres until the final vote count. Early poll results are expected later in the day.