Overseas voting period in the UAE officially kicks off

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - The Philippine Mission in the United Arab Emirates officially kicked off the Overseas Voting period in the country, with the pre-voting enrolment that started on March 22 for all registered Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

According to the press statement released by the Philippine Embassy in its official Facebook page, the UAE boasts the largest number of registered Overseas Filipino Voters in the world, with approximately 189,396 individuals, based on records from the Commission on Election’s Certified List of Voters (CLOV) for both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In a historic first, Filipino Overseas Voters in the UAE will now have the opportunity to cast their votes online using mobile devices, marking a significant step toward modernizing the voting process and increasing accessibility for Filipinos abroad.

“We started overseas absentee voting 20 years ago in response to the clamor of our Overseas Filipinos to have their voices heard in electing our nation’s leaders, and in turn substantively participate in charting the destiny of our country. Election is the purest exercise of that participation in our political process where all Filipinos, regardless of their status or background, will have equal and same rights to cast just one vote,” Ambassador Alonso Ferdinand Ver told participants during the March 20 briefing.

He added, “With the online voting being piloted for our kababayan overseas – a historic first in the history of our country’s democracy - we now call on everyone’s utmost participation and engagement from our part to make this new mode of voting work and succeed.”

On March 20, the Philippine Country Team in the UAE, comprising the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, held a simultaneous joint briefing for Filipino community leaders, media outlets, organizations and key stakeholders across the country to brief the public on the newly implemented Online Overseas Voting system for the upcoming National and Local Elections (NLE) in May.

Ambassador Ver and Consul General to Dubai Marford Angeles facilitated the briefing held in a hybrid format via live broadcast and online streaming.

They were joined by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Director Ian Michael Geonaga as the resource speaker.

The government officials highlighted the need to provide clear guidance on the implementation of the new online voting system to ensure that Overseas Filipino voters in the UAE are well-informed and ready to exercise their right to vote.

Consul Angeles underscored the importance of ensuring broad participation among Filipino voters for the upcoming elections.

He also expressed hope that a large number of Filipinos in the UAE will take part, recognizing the critical role that OFWs play in shaping the outcome of elections.

“Our Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate in Dubai are moving as one government to ensure all Filipino voters in the UAE are able to cast their ballots. Each vote counts and matters – for this is the voice of the people. By leveraging technology and with everyone’s support, we hope for the widest participation of Filipino voters in the UAE as we have the highest number of registered overseas voters all over the world,” Angeles said.

In its official website, the Philippine Embassy announced that the official enrolment link for the Internet Voting is live. Only Filipinos who registered for the online voting can enrol until May 7. The voters were warned against the fraudulent links circulating online.

The Embassy further called on registered Filipino voters to use only the official website when enrolling and to never share personal details on unverified sites.

The March 20 briefing marked the beginning of a series of events and activities that the Philippine mission in the UAE will organize in preparation for the 2025 NLE.

To maximize their reach, the session was streamed live on the official pages of the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai, garnering impressive online engagement with over 22,700 views, 1,197 link clicks, 325 interactions (comments, emojis, shares), and 130 shares.

Through this initiative, the Philippine Country Team in the UAE reaffirms the commitment to foster greater voter awareness and encourage participation among overseas Filipinos in the UAE for the 2025 NLE, the statement added.

Emma Wenceslao Sentones, President of The Global Filipino Community Association (TGFCA), in a separate interview with GMA Integrated News said community leaders in Abu Dhabi have pledged to help cascade the information to all Filipinos residing in the UAE.

Sentones said their group will hold a series of meetings with their members, composed of 30 women, to apprise them of the new online voting system.

“Aside from calling the meeting to disseminate the information, we are posting, sharing the information to our GC groups to spread the message. We are also ready to assist any registered Filipino voters who will have difficulties in accessing the link or finding it hard to vote online,” she said.

Sentones said a kiosk is available in the embassy to assist OFW registered voters in voting provided they bring their own gadgets such as laptops, mobile phones or laptops.

Sheryl Palacios Manalo, board member of the Bayanihan Council Abu Dhabi, said they are actively supporting the call of the embassy officials by disseminating the information about the online voting throughout the 60 organization members under it.

She said an going information dissemination campaign is being carried out through council meetings and updates in their official Facebook page.

“Need mag reach out lahat to inform na need magpa enroll muna ang lahat ng mga registered voters though the link para sa online voting before election para allowed sila mag vote,” Manalo said. — BAP, GMA Integrated News

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