SEVERAL foreign envoys, led by US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, yesterday acted as “observers” in the conduct of the May 12 mid-term local and national elections.
“Visited three Manila polling places this morning as an election observer to witness the vibrant democratic process in action,” Carlson said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, where she also paid tribute to election workers and the Filipinos who exercised their right to suffrage.
“Impressed by the hard-working election officials and volunteers helping tens of thousands of voters exercise their right to vote,” she said.
Canadian Ambassador David Hartmann said the nationwide voting is evidence of Philippine “democracy in action.”
“So pleased to participate as an international observer in today’s Philippine elections. It was both encouraging and heartwarming to witness so many Filipinos proudly and passionately exercising their right to vote!,” Hartmann added.
United Kingdom Ambassador Laure Beaufils echoed the remarks of her colleagues, saying she and her embassy team are “proud to be observing the elections.”
“Today, up to 66.7 million registered voters will go to the polls and more than 41, 000 candidates will contest 18, 320 positions. It is truly an extraordinary exercise in democracy,” Beaufils added.
Australian Ambassador Hae Kyung Yu also said she is delighted to observe the conduct of the elections.
She added the Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier accredited 10 embassy teams in 10 cities nationwide to help monitor the conduct of the polls.
“Elections are integral to democratic governance,” Yu said.
Earlier, the European Union deployed nearly 200 observers to monitor the conduct of the elections. The observers were invited to the country by the Comelec and the Philippine government. The observer mission is the biggest the EU has deployed to the country since it started monitoring the conduct of elections in 2000.
