RIYADH: The Philippine Embassy announced on Saturday that it has increased the number of hours for registered overseas voters to cast their ballots.
“Registered overseas Filipino voters can vote from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday to Saturday, for a total of 11 hours,” Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said.
He said that extending the voting hours is part of the Voters’ Education and Rights (VOTERS) Initiative of the embassy in Riyadh.
The Filipino envoy also renewed his call for Filipinos to cast their votes now and not wait until the last day of elections on May 9.
He said the move aimed at ensuring that all registered voters in the Kingdom would have more time to exercise their right of suffrage.
Earlier, the embassy was urged to extend the ongoing voting from May 9 to May 12.
As of April 27, only 12,736 overseas voters have cast their votes at the embassy. It represents a modest 11.18 percent of the total 113,895 registered voters in the Certified List of Overseas Voters (CLOV) of Riyadh.
For the same period, a total of 5,247 overseas voters have cast their ballots at the International Philippine School in Alkhobar.
The number represents 15.46 percent of the 33,926 registered voters in the CLOV of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Alkhobar.
“The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the POLO in Alkhobar have made enough preparations to accommodate more voters than those who have actually gone to vote,” Ambassador Tago said.
He said, “Our facilities at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or IPSA in Alkhobar, however, may not be able to accommodate a huge number of voters who may come on the last weekend or last day of elections.”
“Registered overseas Filipino voters can vote from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday to Saturday, for a total of 11 hours,” Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said.
He said that extending the voting hours is part of the Voters’ Education and Rights (VOTERS) Initiative of the embassy in Riyadh.
The Filipino envoy also renewed his call for Filipinos to cast their votes now and not wait until the last day of elections on May 9.
He said the move aimed at ensuring that all registered voters in the Kingdom would have more time to exercise their right of suffrage.
Earlier, the embassy was urged to extend the ongoing voting from May 9 to May 12.
As of April 27, only 12,736 overseas voters have cast their votes at the embassy. It represents a modest 11.18 percent of the total 113,895 registered voters in the Certified List of Overseas Voters (CLOV) of Riyadh.
For the same period, a total of 5,247 overseas voters have cast their ballots at the International Philippine School in Alkhobar.
The number represents 15.46 percent of the 33,926 registered voters in the CLOV of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Alkhobar.
“The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the POLO in Alkhobar have made enough preparations to accommodate more voters than those who have actually gone to vote,” Ambassador Tago said.
He said, “Our facilities at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or IPSA in Alkhobar, however, may not be able to accommodate a huge number of voters who may come on the last weekend or last day of elections.”
