Comelec: 99.27% voted ‘yes’ to splitting Maguindanao into two provinces

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday officially announced that the electorate had voted "yes" to dividing Maguindanao into two provinces - Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur.

Based on the official plebiscite municipal canvass of votes provided by the Comelec, 711,767 out of 818,790 voters participated in the Maguindanao plebiscite.

The poll body said that 706,558 or 99.27% voted in favor of splitting the province in accordance with Republic Act No. 1150.

Meanwhile, 5,209 or 0.73% voted “no” to the proposition.

“Resoundingly, the creation of the 2 Provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur had long been hoped for by the Maguindanaoans and their elected leaders. This dream has now become a reality with the success of the plebiscite and the ratification of RA No. 11550,” the Comelec said.

“The very high voter turn-out can be attributed likewise to the intensive cooperation and cooperative actions of the Comelec, the DepEd, the PNP and the AFP, and the Local Government, which is part of the tried, tested and proven election best practices which lead to the successful conduct of the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections,” it added.

Moreover, the Comelec said that the Maguindanao plebiscite held Saturday had the second highest voter turn-out in a province-wide plebiscite with over 711,000 voters or 86.93%.

It also yielded the highest voter turn-out in terms of voters who participated, the poll body added. — DVM, GMA News