by Gail Momblan/PNA
The Commission on Elections in Western Visayas (Comelec-6) expects a large turnout of voters for the May 13, 2019 polls as they continue to conduct road shows to educate the public on proper voting.
Jose Nick Mendros, Comelec-6 Regional Director, on Wednesday said the commission is eyeing to reach 80 to 85 percent of voters from the total registered number of 4,808,842 for the mid-term elections.
The Comelec’s role is not only to conduct but also to “create an election atmosphere where the voters will not be afraid to go out and vote,” he said in an interview.
He said the enthusiasm of the voters might be different from the conduct of the presidential elections in 2016.
“During the presidential elections, we had a high percentage of voters who exercised their rights but the percentage decreased during the barangay elections,” he said.
To encourage the voters to cast their votes in the mid-term polls, Mendros said the region continues to conduct Vote Counting Machine (VCM) road shows which primarily aim to inform and educate the public in casting their votes.
He said the region is still consolidating data regarding the provinces and municipalities, which the VCM road show has already visited.
He clarified that the road show which is for “public consumption” is different from mock elections.
“The mock elections test the system if it reads and transmit (votes) properly while the VCM road show is to show the public that the machine is reliable,” he said.
Mendros added that the public is open to learning how to cast their votes.
The road show became an effective way to address the questions of the voting public, he added.
“The Comelec personnel answered their questions. They were also taught how to shade the oval properly, among others,” he said.
Based on the data of the Comelec-6, Negros Occidental had the most number of voters with 1,889,200; followed by Iloilo with 1,525,168; and Capiz with 513, 329.
