Festus Ringang, election officer said that the commission have received 1,198 absentee ballots since 4 p.m. yesterday.
The commission has sent out 1,768 absentee ballots, Ringang said although the commission will still accept absentee ballots by 4:30 p.m. today, tabulation will start at noon.Vice President Elias Camsek Chin and his running mate Sen. Alan Seid finished first in the presidential primary last Sept. 23.The team of attorney Johnson Toribiong and Delegate Kerai Mariur placed a close second.The results of the absentee ballots tabulation may still change the outcome of the election.The absentee ballots were for the Palauans who live on Guam, Saipan, Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.The top two vote-getters will face off each other in the general elections on Nov.4.Based on the unofficial results, Chin-Seid garnered 2,335 votes; Toribiong-Mariur, 2,090; Senate President Surangel Whipps and presidential Chief of Staff Billy Kuartei, 1,968; and Senator Joshua Koshiba and Peleliu GovernorJackson Ngiraingas, 1,298.Koshiba’s team conceded defeat last week while Whipps team is still hopeful the result of the absentee ballots counting will push him past Toribiong’s team. Whipps is only 122 votes behind Toribiong’s team.Chin meanwhile is 245 votes ahead of Toribong and leads 367 votes from Whipps. Chin and Seid won in Koror, Palau’s most populous state, while Toribiong led in Airai where he holds a traditional title.The election commission said Koror and Airai had the most number of registered voters.Chin also garnered the most votes in Peleliu, Ngaraard, Anguar and Sonsorol while Toribiong finished first in Hatohobei, Melekeok and Ngiwal.
