12 March 2016 – A record number of 353 registered Filipino voters came to the Philippine Embassy in Seoul to cast their ballots on the first two days of the overseas polls for the 2016 national elections, the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) for South Korea said on March 10.

The Embassy’s SBEI Chair, Third Secretary and Vice Consul Ella Karina Mitra noted that 106 registered voters personally cast their ballots on April 09, the start of the 30-day overseas voting period. There were 247 voters who cast their ballots on April 10.

“I encourage each and every registered overseas Filipino voter in South Korea to exercise his or her right to suffrage this coming 2016 elections,” said Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez in a message posted in the Embassy’s official website. “Let us all remember that each vote counts. Let’s get involved, participate and vote in the 2016 elections.”

The first voter in South Korea, a long-time resident of the city of Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, was at the voting venue even before the doors opened at 8:00 am Korea Standard Time (7:00 am in Philippine Standard Time).

South Korea is one of 17 overseas posts, including four in Asia, that have adopted a mixed voting system, combining personal and postal voting. At the same time, the results will be counted using an automated Smartmatic Vote Counting Machines (VCM), making Seoul one of 30 cities that will produce a quick count when polls close on May 09.

Under this postal voting option, the Embassy either sends mailing packets containing the official ballots and other election paraphernalia to voters who have made a request for it by April 22 or makes them available for pick-up by the voters at the Embassy polling station or such other voting areas designated by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).

Additionally, the Embassy will conduct field voting in Korea’s second and fourth biggest cities of Busan and Daegu from April 22 to 23 and April 29 to 30, respectively. Registered voters in those two field voting sites can submit their ballots via postal voting.

South Korea has more than 11,000 registered overseas Filipino voters, making the Embassy of the Philippines in Seoul fifth among the embassies and consulates general in Asia in terms of number of registered voters. END