The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking at suspending polls or a ‘failure of elections’ in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Comelec Director Sinoa Bea Wee-Lozada in a House hearing on the poll body’s preparations for the May 9 elections, said the possible suspension in Afghanistan was due to the mandatory repatriation undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs last August 2021. This was under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad.

RELATED STORY: Comelec wants to prosecute individuals spreading fake ‘exit polls’

In Ukraine, she said, “We have 15 registered overseas voters in Ukraine under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw. So, due to the ongoing repatriation as well, the registered overseas voters in these two countries will not be able to cast their votes due to the situations in those countries.”

Due to security concerns, voting has been suspended in areas under the Philippine embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and in the Philippine embassy in Tripoli which covers the countries of Algeria, Chad, Tunisia, and Libya.

Earlier, overseas absentee voting was suspended in Shanghai, China, due to COVID-19 restrictions.