Aklan’s voters for May 07 polls now 273,738

Kalibo, Aklan – Almost 30,000 more voters will be trooping to Aklan’s polling places in May 2007.

Final report of COMELEC-Aklan on the total number of registered voters after the December 31, 2006 deadline for continuing registration pegged the list at 273,738, compared to 244,429 as of August 2006.

Kalibo, the capital town of Aklan is still the richest in voters with 36,162 followed by Ibajay, 22,116 and New Washington, 21,891.

The municipality of Banga has 20,174 voters, Batan, 17,649; Malay, 16,930; Numancia, 16,715; Balete, 14,973; Makato, 14,783; Libacao, 14,453; Nabas, 14,504; Altavas, 13,437; Malinao, 12,996; Tangalan, 10,626; Madalag, 9,667; Buruanga, 9,373; and Lezo, 7,289.

All municipalities increased in their respective number of voters.

For this forthcoming election period, Aklan has 1,916 established precincts, 1,328 grouped/clustered precincts and 339 total number of polling places distributed in 327 barangays.

COMELEC-Aklan under OIC Lorena Tumbagahan has conducted several command conferences with the local PNP here in preparation for a clean, honest, and credible elections. The local media here has been briefed from time to time on updates on the forthcoming elections as well as to inform them on the do’s and don’t’s during the election period, which started January 14 and would end June 13, 2007.

During the election period, prohibited acts include carrying guns and other deadly weapons in public places, suspension of elective local officials, transfer of officers and employees in the civil service; use of security forces or bodyguards by candidates whether or not such bodyguards are regular members of the AFP or PNP or other law enforcement agency and giving of donations or gifts in cash or in kind, etc.

Other prohibited acts as contained in COMELEC Res. 7707 are the appointment or hiring of new employees, creation or filling up of new positions starting March 30, 2007 to May 14, 2007; construction of public works and releasing disbursing of expenditures of public funds for public works.

On May 14, 2007, Election Day, campaigning is prohibited; so is selling, offering, buying or taking liquor, giving, accepting free transportation, food and drinks; selling votes; voting more than once; holding of fairs and cockfights, and selling of merchandise within a radius of thirty meters from the polling places.

Meanwhile, the COMELEC has come out with a code of conduct for election officers and employees nationwide to ensure that they will be guided by the highest standard of honesty, impartiality, and transparency in carrying out their task of ensuring honest and orderly elections in May. (PIA/VGVillanueva)