The Commission on Elections expects a high voter turnout in the plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law Monday.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said they expect the voter turnout to be around 75 percent since elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao usually have a high turnout rate.
“Historically speaking, elections in that region have enjoyed high turnout rates,” he said. “So we expect that there would be high voter turnout,” added Jimenez.
The plebiscite will be conducted in areas comprising the ARMM, as well as Isabela City in Basilan, and Cotabato City.
Jimenez reminded the more than two million registered voters who are expected to cast their votes that the only acceptable response to the questions will be “Yes” or “No,” “Oo” or “Hindi,” or any word in the dialects equivalent to yes or no.
“What will happen if they see an X or check mark on the ballot? Under the law and the ruling has been made that a check or an X will not be considered as a yes or no vote. Instead, it will be considered as a sign of desistance, abstention,” he said.
“Reason? A check mark or an X mark these are easy to manufacture so you can make lots and lots of fake ballots just repeating the same check mark and it would be very difficult to spot whether or not spurious ballots have been introduced,” Jimenez explained.
He said there will be one or two questions in the ballot depending on the area.
“For the ARMM territories except Basilan there will only be one question and that is the ratification question. For Basilan province, there will be two questions – the ratification question and the inclusion question, the inclusion question referring to the city of Isabela. For the city of Isabela, there will only be one question and that’s the inclusion question and for the city of Cotabato, there will be one question as well,” said Jimenez.
The ratification question is: “Are you in favor of the approval of Republic Act No. 11054, otherwise known as the Organic Law of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao?”
The inclusion question is: “Are you in favor of the inclusion of ___ in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region?”
Voting is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to be followed by the counting of votes.
Canvassing of votes, Jimenez said, will be done at the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila as the Comelec en banc will sit as the plebiscite National Board of Canvassers.
The plebiscite will be conducted in two separate days on Jan. 21 and Feb. 6.
The plebiscite for Lanao del Norte, except Iligan City; Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pikit, and Pigkawayan in North Cotabato; and the 28 areas contiguous to any of the Bangsamoro core areas, where either the local government of such area, by way of a resolution; or at least 10 percent of the registered voters in a local government unit, by way of a petition, asked for inclusion in the plebiscite, will be held on Feb. 6. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)
