UK, Ireland Mark Increased Voter Turnout in 2019 PH Elections

Special Board of Canvassers Chairperson Senen T. Mangalile affixes this thumb prints on a copy of the final unofficial results for the 2019 Philippine National Elections Overseas Voting in the United Kingdom and Ireland. (London PE photo)

LONDON 24 May 2019 — The Philippine Embassy in London registered a 25 percent voter turn-out for the 2019 Senatorial and Party List Elections’ Overseas Absentee Voting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, or 8,175 actual votes out of 32,442 registered voters.

This is a sharp increase in voter turnout for midterm elections with only around 1,300 registered voters out of around 13,000 in the UK and Ireland who exercised their right to vote in the 2013 Senatorial and Party List Elections.

The voting period in London and Ireland ended at exactly 11:00 a.m. BST or 6:00 p.m. Philippine time on 13 May 2019, pursuant to Commission on Elections (COMELEC) rules.  All ballots received by the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) beyond 11:00 a.m. were deemed invalid.

This year, in accordance to COMELEC Resolution 18-1124, the UK and Ireland adopted a purely postal mode of voting. Ballots were either posted to or personally collected by the registered voters within the Embassy’s area of jurisdiction. This underscored the importance of registered voters updating their records within the COMELEC’s registration period, which took place from 01 December 2016 to 31 September 2018. END

For more information, visit www.londonpe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/pg/PHLinUK or https://twitter.com/philippinesinuk