Improving the absentee voting system

FROM THE SIDELINES
By Alfredo G. Rosario, manilatimes.net
Thursday, September 18, 2008

To address the dismal absentee voter turnout in previous elections, the Department of Foreign Affairs is convening a meeting this afternoon to thresh out the problems of registration and voting in all countries where Filipino citizens reside and work.

With Foreign Undersecretary Rafael Seguis presiding, the meeting will be attended by representatives of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Commission on Elections and other agencies involved in overseas voting.

Voting is not only a right but also a duty for all Filipinos, especially the eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in 190 countries worldwide. Their votes can make a difference between victory and defeat for candidates for president, vice president and members of Congress.

It is lamentable, however, that in the 2004 presidential election, only a tiny fraction of the total overseas workers population participated in the exercise of their constitutional right to vote. There were only 364,287 who registered, 65 percent of whom voted.

Except for Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Alkobar, Kuwait and Saipan, where OFWs are closely knit, absentee voting in countries where they are geographically dispersed was predictably light. There were 10 countries with zero votes primarily because there were no Philippine embassies and consulates there.

Seafarers found it difficult to take part in the democratic process because they were out at sea or were not duly informed of the registration and voting procedures if they happened to be on land.

Another factor why Filipino immigrants and naturalized citizens of the US, Canada and some countries in Europe were reluctant to vote was the requirement that they had to sign an affidavit with intent to return to the Philippines. They feared that by voting, they might lose their permanent resident’s status or even their acquired foreign citizenship.

In the hearing of the Joint Congressional Committee on Absentee Voting in December 2004, a proposal was made to do away with the “affidavit to return” requirement to dispel the fears of Filipino immigrants and those with dual citizenship about voting in future Philippine national elections.

Voting by mail should be encouraged where OFWs are far from embassies and consulates and the use of the Internet for voting should be developed. There should be an intensified information campaign on absentee voting and more registration drives to draw as many OFWs as possible to enjoy their sacred right of suffrage.

It is important for the government to set out the parameters over how registration and voting by absentee ballot should be complied with. The sublime purpose is to enfranchise most, if not all, of our OFWs in places where they work. There must be a reasonable length of time for them to register.