The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday lauded the successful conduct of the plebiscite on Carmona's cityhood. "We are beyond pleased to note once more the increased interest and more active participation of the electorate in recent electoral exercises," Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said in a statement. Laudiangco made the statement following the release of the complete and official turnout on the plebiscite wherein the majority voted in favor of its ratification. "Carmona, the richest municipality in the Philippines, just became the 149th city after its constituents resoundingly voted YES on July 8, 2023, to ratify the conversion of their municipality into a component city," he said. Based on the complete and official canvass of Carmona's Municipal Plebiscite Board of Canvassers (MPBOC), 96.76 percent of the total voters' turnout voted yes. This is equivalent to 30,363 voters, higher than the 3.24 percent who voted no, equivalent to 1,016 voters. The 31,379 turnout represented 53.46 percent of the 58,691 total registered voters in the area. Meanwhile, Laudiangco commended the efforts of the Carmona local government unit, Department of Education, Philippine National Police, and Armed Forces of the Philippines in ensuring the orderly conduct of the plebiscite. "For our part, no matter the scale of the electoral exercise, we assure the Filipino people that we will always abide by our mandate to conduct peaceful, orderly, honest, and credible elections," he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency