Comelec Eastern Visayas reports 84.7% voter turnout

TACLOBAN CITY, May 11 (PNA) -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) regional office here reported a voter turnout of 84.7 percent during Monday’s election.

Comelec Eastern Visayas Regional Director Dennis Ausan attributed this to the massive information campaign and the voters’ desire to show support to their preferred candidates.

Some voters who work in Manila and Cebu even went to their home province to participate in the electoral process, the Comelec official noted.

Of the 2,698,880 registered voters, 2,285,926 of them showed up at their assigned clustered precincts to cast their votes.

From this figure the number, 86,732 voted in Biliran; 253,807 in Eastern Samar; 986,055 in Leyte; 420,440 in Samar; and 318,478 in Northern Samar; and 220,414 in Southern Leyte. These provinces posted a voter turnout of 79 percent to 85 percent.

“Election is really a democratic exercise and we are happy that majority of our voters participated in this exercise,” Ausan said.

Meanwhile, the Comelec regional chief reported that conduct of elections was generally peaceful and orderly even in areas tagged as hotpots. The official hopes that peaceful atmosphere will continue until the end of election period on June 8.

The official has called on politicians to respect the result now “that the people have already made their decisions.”

“Both winners and losers should respect the decision of the majority. To the losers, this is not the end of the world. There’s always a reason for everything,” Ausan added. (PNA)
BNB/SARWELL Q. MENIANO