Google map of Basilan Island province.
ISABELA CITY, Basilan – Technical problems have delayed the canvassing of votes at the municipal and city levels in this province.
Lawyer Vidzfar Julie, the provincial election supervisor, said Tuesday a number of vote-counting machines (VCMs) had to be retrieved and sent to the technical hub in Zamboanga City for repair.
“Just this morning we sent another two units of VCM to Zamboanga City for repair,” Julie said in an interview.
As of Tuesday afternoon, only 87 percent of the 499 clustered precincts have transmitted election results to the municipal and city board of canvassers (BOCs).
The city and municipal BOCs will then transmit to the provincial BOC once all the results from the precincts are transmitted to them.
Julie, who convened the provincial BOC late Monday, said they have so far received the election results from Lamitan City and Tuburan town as of Tuesday.
“We are still waiting for the election results from the remaining 10 towns and Isabela City,” he said.
The province has a total of 297,322 registered voters.
Meanwhile, incumbent Rep. Mujiv Hataman of the Basilan Unity Party is leading in the race for the lone congressional seat of the province, garnering 124,992 votes based on the unofficial and partial result as of Tuesday morning.
Lawyer Yasmeen Junaid of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party is trailing behind with 58,514 votes.
In the gubernatorial race, reelectionist Gov. Hadjiman Hataman-Salliman of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) is leading with 110,082 votes.
Alfiya Akbar of the Lakas-CMD is following second in the gubernatorial race with 75,498.
If he wins, Hataman will be serving his second term in office while Salliman, his brother, is on his third and last term. (PNA)
