1,600 Pinoys in Shanghai unable to vote due to COVID-19 lockdowns

MANILA, April 25 ------ About 1,600 Filipinos in Shanghai, China are still unable to vote for the 2022 elections due to the indefinite lockdowns implemented there, a top Philippine diplomat said Sunday.

In an interview on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo, Shanghai Philippine consul general Josel Ignacio said that overseas absentee voting (OAV) is still suspended in the city because of the lockdowns brought by another COVID-19 outbreak. Citing Chinese state media reports, Ignacio said that the lockdowns in Shanghai may be lifted by around May or June, well after the national and local polls in the Philippines on May 9. The current approved method of voting in Shanghai is in-person, Ignacio said, but because of the lockdowns, they are considering other methods of voting.

One alternative method is the manifestation of intent to vote in another post, which allows Filipinos registered in Shanghai to vote in another Philippine diplomatic post in China. “Ang constraint naman po doon, mahirap lumabas ng Shanghai at wala ngayong inter-provincial links,” he said.

Ignacio said they also considered postal voting, an idea he said Comelec was “receptive” to. However, postal ballots were only allowed to be distributed on May 10, and postal services in Shanghai have also been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak there. Because of these constraints, Ignacio said that his office has sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese government to allow overseas voting in Shanghai.

Up to 15 Filipinos in Shanghai have tested positive for COVID-19 amid the ongoing outbreak there, Ignacio said. One has since been discharged. Authorities in Shanghai ordered a strict lockdown be implemented in the city last month due to the surge of coronavirus cases there.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com