Comelec Reports 83.3% Voter Turnout In Cebu City

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recorded a voter turnout of 83.3 percent in last Monday’s elections in Cebu City, higher than the voter turnout in the 2013 polls.

Lawyer Michael Angelo Sarno, south district election officer, attributed this to the presidential race.

“Many voters showed up at the polling centers because of the fight among the presidentiables. The candidates had many supporters and their local machinery made sure their supporters voted on election day,” he said.

Based on the certificates of canvass issued by the poll body, a total of 524,850 voters showed up at their clustered precincts out of the 630,003 registered voters in the city.

Sarno said the 83.3 percent of the total number of voters who actually voted was higher than the 81.36 percent who went out to cast their votes during the 2013 mid-term elections.

That time, only 445,576 of the 547,681 registered voters in the city cast their ballots, according to Comelec records.

Aside from the presidential fight, Sarno said the high voter turnout may also be due to the rematch between Mayor Michael Rama of Team Rama and Tomas Osmeña of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan.

During the 2013 elections, Rama, who was then seeking a second term, defeated the former mayor by a lead margin of 6,367.

This year’s polls, however, Osmeña defeated the incumbent mayor by 34,036 votes.

Osmeña earned a total of 267,222 votes, while Rama got 233,186. (PNA) FFC/EB/EDS