Filtered By: Pinoyabroad
Pinoy Abroad

No request yet to suspend OAV registration in troubled states –Comelec


Overseas absentee voting registration is ongoing in troubled countries despite the raising of various alert levels by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

According to Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman James Jimenez, the poll body has yet to receive requests for OAV suspension from concerned Philippine overseas posts.

“Post sends a recommendation to Comelec if they find that it is too dangerous to continue registration or if registration is not feasible,” Jimenez said Thursday.

“On the basis of that recommendation, registration is either suspended or not by the Comelec,” he added.

Among the countries where the Philippines has raised its alert level are Israel, Libya, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Iraq. OAV registration in these nations are ongoing.

“So far, no suspension has been ordered,” Jimenez said.

The DFA has declared Crisis Alert Level 4 (Mandatory Repatriation Phase) in the Gaza Strip, Libya, and Iraq, while Crisis Alert Level 3 (Voluntary Repatriation Phase) is presently up in Afghanistan.

The OAV registration started on May 6 and will last until October 31, 2015 in all Philippine embassies and consulates abroad.

The Comelec and the DFA is looking to register one million new overseas voters for the 2016 national and local elections. —KBK, GMA News

LOADING CONTENT