BONTOC, Mountain Province – The provincial election supervisor declared that one of the province’s vice gubernatorial candidates who earlier succumbed to a lingering illness can be substituted anytime until noon of election day because he belongs to an accredited political party.
Provincial election Supervisor Ricardo Lampac stated that incumbent boardmember Alexander Claver who filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice governor for the upcoming May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections and who recently died due to a lingering illness can be substituted by any of his partymates from the Nationalista Party (NP) or any of the members of his family with a similar surname up to noon of election day.
However, he admitted that his office did not yet receive any information from his party or his family on the next steps that they will undertake to substitute him as the same is allowed under existing election guidelines that had been crafted for the said purpose.
Lampac disclosed that the Provincial Election Office is ready to extend assistance to Claver’s party and his family on how to undertake the substitution process for someone to pursue his desire to serve the people of Mountain Province as the vice governor if he was to win in next year’s elections.
According to him, what is good in the case of Claver is that he filed his COC for vice governor under a political party that is why he can be easily substituted by his party mate or probably by a member of his family with a similar surname where such substitution could be done up to noon of election day.
He claimed that the party or family decision on the matter might come later as they are still grieving from his untimely loss although the Provincial Election Office is ready to assist them once they want to process the documents to substitute him.
On the other hand, Lampac expressed hope there will be a significant increase in the number of registered voters in the province for the upcoming May 2022 elections with the granted extension of the registration period.
He stipulated that after the close of the extended registration period on October 30, 2021, the different election offices will be scheduling their respective election registration board meetings to approve the new registrants to that the final number of voters in the different precincts could be ascertained that will pave the way for the subsequent printing of ballots in time for the May polls.
Lampac revealed there has been a significant influx of new voters in the different elections offices established all over the province since the start of the extended registration period which shows the interest of the people to actively participate in the upcoming elections.
Lampac expressed his gratitude to the people of Mountain Province for their support to the ongoing registration of voters and for availing of the situation to allow them to exercise their right to suffrage during the May 2022 elections. By HENT
