Overseas Absentee Voting in Hong Kong SAR:  Photos

28 April 2007

Inspection of election materials

Members of the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) inspect and inventory election materials received from the Commission on Elections on 04 April 2007 at the premises of the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, while Consul General Alejandrino A. Vicente (standing, center, left photo), other officials of the Consulate General and accredited media representatives look on.

Transfer of election materials to Bayanihan Center

Balikbayan box-size ballot receptacles of the 22 Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) for voting are brought down from the van that transported them and other election materials from the Philippine Consulate General to the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town, the venue of the overseas voting exercises in Hong Kong, on 12 April 2007.  The Bayanihan Centre was also the venue in the 2004 presidential elections.

Allocation of voting materials to all SBEI’s

Members of the 22 Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) for voting take an inventory of the election materials allocated to them by the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) for use during the voting exercises.  The materials were distributed at the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town, the voting venue in Hong Kong, on 13 May 2007, the day before the elections.  The materials include collapsible ballot boxes, official ballots, their respective copies of the List of Absentee Voters with Voting Records, copies of the Certified List of Candidates, special envelopes, serialized paper and security seals, ballot secrecy folders and supplies such as pens and thumbprint takers to be used for voting.

Set-up of voting precincts

Members of the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) for voting prepare for the opening of overseas absentee voting in Hong Kong by setting up their respective voting precincts at the Bayanihan Centre on 13 May 2007, the day before the elections.  The 22 precincts, manned by three persons each, are spread out on the various floors of the Bayanihan Centre, and are to open to receive voters from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays, throughout the election period which begins on 14 April and ends on 14 May. 

Visit of Comelec officials at Bayanihan Centre

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin S. Abalos Sr. and Deputy Executive Director Estrella de Mesa (photo upper left) inspect the ballot receptacles of the 22 Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) for voting which are being stored in the secured room at the Bayanihan Centre and watched over by the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG), seen here exchanging ideas (photos upper right and lower left).  The Comelec officials conducted the inspection on 13 May 2007, a day before the overseas absentee voting in Hong Kong started.  Chairman Abalos, accompanied by other Comelec officials present, members of the Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) in Hong Kong and officials of the Philippine Consulate General, also inspected the 22 voting precincts at the Bayanihan Centre and met with the members of the SBEIs for voting (photo lower right).

Opening ceremony – voting

Consul General Alejandrino A. Vicente, Fr. Emil Lim, SVD and Fr. Lino Nicasio, SVD (photo left), officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong SAR, accredited media representatives, volunteers and some of the first voters stand at attention as the Philippine National Anthem is sung during the opening ceremonies in the morning of 14 April 2007 at the Bayanihan Centre.  A blessing of the 22 voting precincts as well as the Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) in Hong Kong and the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) by Fr. Lim (photo right) followed, before the voting precincts were finally opened at precisely 9 a.m.

First overseas absentee voter in Hong Kong

Ms. Rowena B. dela Cruz, an OFW from Laguna who works in Tai Wai, witnesses the assembling of the ballot box by members of the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) manning precinct number 8 (photo left) at the Bayanihan Centre, where she later filled up her official ballot (photo right) and cast it at 9.17 a.m. on 14 May 2007, the first day of overseas absentee voting in Hong Kong.  Ms. dela Cruz’ ballot was the first to be cast in Hong Kong.

The Consul General casting his vote

(Photo left) Consul General Alejandrino A. Vicente (standing) signs next to his name in the List of Absentee Voters with Voting Records (LOAVVR) before Mr. Vicente Corpuz, Chairman of the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) manning precinct number 22, at the Bayanihan Centre, on 14 May 2007, the first day of overseas absentee voting.  After accomplishing his official ballot, ConGen Vicente places it in an envelope and seals it, and hands it over to the Chairman (photo right), who later inserts the sealed envelope in the ballot box.

Overseas absentee voters in Hong Kong casting their votes

Voters line up at the basketball court on the third floor of the Bayanihan Centre in Hong Kong (photo left) while others await their turn at the checking area (photo right) where voters find out whether their names are included in the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters (CLOAV).  They are then directed to their respective precincts located on the second, fourth and fifth floors.  Volunteers from the Filipino community, in light green vests, help in managing the flow of traffic.

Overseas absentee voters in Hong Kong casting their votes 

(Photo left) Voters line up before the Chairman of the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) who locates their names in the List of Absentee Voters with Voting Records (LOAVVR).  They then accomplish their ballots while seated in the designated chairs, guided by a copy of the Certified List of Candidates attached to the Ballot Secrecy Folder.  Each accomplished ballot is placed in an envelope, which is sealed by the voter (photo right), before it is inserted by the Chairman of the SBEI into the ballot box.

Briefing of SBEIs

Consul General Alejandrino A. Vicente (photo left) recaps the day’s activities at the end of the first voting day in Hong Kong with the members of the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) for voting, manning the 22 voting precincts at the Bayanihan Centre.  The briefing served to evaluate the system put in place to ensure that the conduct of voting is smooth and orderly, and to discuss and resolve voting-related problems that arose.