Plebiscite’s initial tally validates Muslim support for BOL — Palace

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Tuesday said the initial and unofficial tally of the votes in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite validates a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey result which showed that majority of Muslims nationwide support the ratification of the proposed statute.

The SWS survey, which was conducted from Dec. 16 to 19, 2018, indicated that 79 percent of Muslims nationwide favor the approval of the BOL, which is expected to bring lasting peace in Mindanao.

READ: Majority of Muslims nationwide favor the approval of BOL

“The initial unofficial tally of the votes in the plebiscite appears to validate the survey results,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

“We hope that the aspiration of our Muslim brothers and sisters for a peaceful and progressive Bangsamoro region will commence its realization following the ratification of the BOL,” he added.

In its unofficial tally, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said that as of 10 p.m. Monday, a total of 306,695 in seven provinces voted to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

The initial tally also showed that the highest voter turnout came from the province of Sulu with 86,720 voters supporting the ratification of the BOL.

Of the seven areas that participated in the first day of the plebiscite, only Isabela City has the greater number of dissenters with 21,810 voting against the BOL as compared to 18,796 “yes” votes.

Another round of voting is scheduled for Feb. 6 in Lanao del Norte province, except in Iligan City and six towns in Cotabato that may want to become part of the new region.  /muf