Tel Aviv – Overseas voting in Israel for the mid-term Philippine elections officially closed at 1:00 p.m. on May 13 2019, with a record turn-out of 28.62 percent, or 4,009 out of 14,007 registered voters since the polls opened at the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv on April 13, 2019.
This was a substantial improvement over the 2013 mid-term polls, which only drew nine percent, 835 out of 9,277 registered voters, or five times more than the 2013 figure.
“The number of people who showed up to vote is encouraging, especially for mid-term elections,” Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial noted. “We believe that this reflects a high level of political awareness among Filipinos in Israel, and a strong determination to make sure that their voices are heard through the ballot box.”
The Embassy worked closely with local partners, churches, and Filipino community leaders in Israel throughout the registration period in 2018, and again throughout the first quarter of 2019 to encourage registered voters to come to the Embassy to cast their votes.
The Filipino community responded enthusiastically, making arrangements to come to the Embassy during weekends and holidays in order to vote.
“We truly appreciate our community’s efforts to rally each other to take part in the elections,” Ambassador Imperial stated. “From those who invited us to their events to talk about overseas voting, to those who served as watchers and volunteers, we saw everyone’s genuine desire to take part in selecting our country’s legislators.”
As chair of the Special Board of Canvassers, Ambassador Imperial delivered the results of the elections personally to the National Board of Canvassers in Manila, where it will be counted as part of the overall result of elections.
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For more information, visit www.telavivpe.dfa.gov.ph, www.philippine-embassy.org.il or https://www.facebook.com/PHinIsrael.
