Eleksyon 2022 overseas voting turnout reached 34.88% – Comelec

Voter turnout for overseas absentee voting in the 2022 polls settled at 34.88%, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday.

The development came a day after the Comelec announced that the local absentee voting turnout reached 88%, the highest so far.

Acting Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that they expect the 63 Philippine overseas posts that were constituted as Special Boards of Canvassers to transmit 26 electronic Certificates of Canvass (COCs) and 37 manually-accomplished COCs.

He said the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), has already received the COCs from Cambodia and Vietnam, out of the 37 manually-accomplished COCs that will be delivered directly to the NBOC.

“We congratulate and thank the National Board of Canvassers [and] our overseas voters there,” he added.

Laudiangco said that the NBOC was hoping to receive the COCs from Amman, Jordan and Tel Aviv, Israel within the day.

On the other hand, the NBOC has also received 16 or 61.54% of the 26 electronic COCs from countries and areas such as Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Lebanon, Oman, Brunei, Agana, Thailand, Athens, Taiwan, Bahrain, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Spain.

Based on Comelec data, a total of 1,697,215 overseas Filipinos were registered for the 2022 elections. Of this number, 786,997 came from the Middle East and African countries; 450,282 from the Asia-Pacific; 306,445 from North and Latin America; and 153,491 from Europe.

Poll Commissioner Marlon Casquejo earlier credited the improved overseas voter turnout to the "vote anywhere" concept, wherein Filipinos who are in another country but are registered in a different country are allowed to vote; and "field voting," wherein the consul or the embassy staff would go directly to where the overseas Filipinos reside for them to cast their vote. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday that the OAV was a success despite the challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The LAV took place from April 27 to 29, while the OAV began on April 10 and ended on Election Day, May 9. —VBL, GMA News