Cebu needs over a hundred electronic voting machines to enable the Commission on Elections cope with the province’s more than 90,000 additional voters in next year’s elections.
According to Arthur Patiga, elections assistant of the Comelec, of the 2.5 million registered voters in the province, a total of 93,231 are categorized as “new”. There were 2.41 million voters in the 2010 elections.
The surge in numbers from 2010 levels also necessitated an increase in the number of clustered precincts – from 3,063 in 2010 to 3,169 for 2013.
Each clustered precinct is entitled to one Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machine. Patiga said Cebu needs at least 106 additional PCOS machines
Cebu’s first district has the most number of registered voters with 340,681 followed by the fifth district with 313,741. .
It is followed by the third district with 305,952 voters, the sixth district with 279,972 voters, the fourth district with 277,060 voters and the second district with 271,092 registrants. .
About 547,681 residents registered for both the southern and northern districts of Cebu City.
The lone legislative district of Lapu-Lapu City has 173,341 registered voters. Rep. Arturo Radaza represents the district.
Meanwhile, Comelec provincial supervisor Marco Lionel Castillano said the deadline for the substitution of candidates for next year’s elections is on Dec. 21.
He said only candidates running under political parties can be substituted. No substitution is allowed for independent candidates.
Castillano explained that the Comelec imposed the deadline since the poll body needs ample time to print the ballots and other election paraphernalia as well as configure the PCOS machines based on the final list of candidates./Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol