LONDON - British-Filipinos have earned the right to vote in the UK election, something they value as full members of British society.

More than 44 million people have registered to vote in the UK general election and many of them turned up when polling stations across Britain opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m. on Thursday.

Francis Umali said he has been in this country for 22 years and he takes voting for people running the government seriously. He makes time to get to know the parties and people to vote for.

“Sa Pilipinas, I know already what the politics is kaya hindi na gaanong mahirap sa akin. Dito naman, kailangan discreet din ako sa pagpili ng kandidato,” said Umali.  

But one of the most sophisticated democracies in the world also experienced glitch as many people were denied the chance to vote. One of them is London resident Robert Reyes.

“Maaga akong gumising because I want to be in the first line, pagpunta ko sa polling station, wala yung pangalan ko at address ko. I said, how come? I have been voting here for the last 25 years already. This is the first time (it has happened). They told me to come back at 5 p.m. but I have work,” he said.
 
BBC has reported that hundreds of voters in London, Sheffield, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham were left queuing outside polling stations after they closed at 10 p.m. on Thursday.  

British-Filipino candidates

A total of 649 Member of Parliament (MP) seats and over 4, 000 seats for councilor were contested in the May 6 general election. Hackney, Newham, Lewisham and Watford residents also voted for mayor. Only one person is to occupy 10 Downing Street. As of latest, sitting Prime Minister Gordon Brown is still the occupant.

Of the thousands of seats contested, 3 British-Filipinos braved to join the race which is one of the most closely-fought general election in the UK in recent years. Only 3 seats, but for the Filipino diaspora in London it meant history because for the first time in many years, it has produced 3 candidates: 1 MP and 2 councilors. (Related Story: 3 Pinoys standing as bets in UK general election)

In the borough of Newham, Liberal Democrat’s bet for councilor Tony De Chavez was cheered on by his Filipino supporters, mostly from Batangas Association-UK, after he cast his vote.   

“Kung kaya ng ibang nasyon: Bangladesh, Ski Lanka, Pakistan, bakit hindi ang Pilipino? Kaya din natin ito,” he said.
 
“Sa susunod na eleksyon, nandito pa rin ako lalaban pa rin tayo. Kung di man ako gusto ko may kapwa natin Pilipino na tumakbo, lumaban at itindig ang ating lahing Pilipino. Let’s get involved in politics,” he added.
   
In a neighboring ward of Plaistow, Eva Macandangdang, another British-Filipino who ran as an independent candidate for councilor in West Ham also cast her vote. Her campaign supporters from the groups Philjury and Kampi were also waiting for her outside the polling station to give her a moral boost.

On Friday afternoon, it was clear that the British-Filipino votes did not have command even in a small borough. Both De Chavez and Macadangdang lost in their bid for councilor in the areas believed to be populated by Filipino immigrants.

“Now we are already preparing the ground, who knows we might have 10, 20 candidates in the future, and one of them at least might get in,” said Gene Alcantara who ran as an independent candidate for MP in the constituencies of Hampstead and Kilburn. (Related Story: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/05/01/10/mp-candidacy-pinoy-u... MP candidacy of Pinoy in UK gets mixed reactions)

With no party machinery to back his campaign, Alcantara lost and received the least number of votes in Hampstead and Kilburn. Macadangdang who also suffered defeat, landed in the 8th place out of 10 contenders. De Chavez who ran under the Liberal Democrat came up fourth in the tally but only 3 councilors in his ward will be given seats.

First hung Parliament in 36 years

The Conservative Party has taken most MP seats from rival party Labour, the party of incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Brown. But the seats taken by the Conservatives were not enough to secure a majority.

In the lexicon of British politics, the situation is described as a hung parliament. It means that no single party has enough MPs -326- to win parliamentary votes without getting the support of other parties. The last hung parliament in the UK has taken place in 1974.

The Conservative Party does not automatically gain the right to form a new government. Under the constitution, the incumbent Prime Minster is entitled to form a new government. A party coalition will determine if Gordon Brown will remain in 10 Downing St.
 
Like many Brits, British-Filipinos in the UK have also lost the appetite to support Labour, the ruling party in the last 13 years. Many of them abandoned Labour to support the Conservative Party. The key issues for consideration amongst British-Filipinos were imbedded in the party manifestos related to jobs, economy and immigration. The Conservative Party promised tighter immigration rules, which British-Filipinos support.  

“Ang ayaw ko na sa Labour, mapunta tayo sa immigration, wala silang control sa pagpapasok dito. Hindi mo alam kahit terorista napapasok nila dito. Katunayan na lang terorista na nga nakakapagtrabaho pa sa gobyerno,” said Reyes.
 
He also said that the Conservative Party’s  pledge to reduce net immigration ‘from hundreds of thousands’ to  ‘tens of thousands’ would mean  more tenable opportunities for employment for them.

Full participation in electoral process

In a few days, British-Filipino voters will shift their focus on the Philippine elections. Many Filipinos with dual citizenships are now gearing up for the monitoring of the May 10 presidential election back home, using various means of new media platforms, including twitter,  Facebook and the round-the-clock media coverage of ANC to be seen on The Filipino Channel.  

As a dual citizen, Umali has also earlier cast his vote in the Overseas Absentee Voting which started on April 10. For him, it was compulsory to vote both in the UK and the Philippine elections.

“Ang gusto ko magkaroon din ng enhancement ang ating politics sa Pilipinas. Kaya ako bumuboto dito kasi gusto kong malaman ang pasikut-sikot ng politics dito at maikumpara ko sa atin,” he explained.  

For those who cannot partake in the electoral process in the UK, it was enough that they were able to observe, learn and hopefully, become better voters when they return to the Philippines.

“Hindi naman tayo pumupunta dito na hinayaan na lang na wala tayong nalalaman sa nangyayari dito,” said said Maria Theresa Ampuan, a student in London.

It is now clear to many British-Filipino voters who want to see fellow Filipinos win in the UK election that a lot of hard work, out-of-the-box strategy for the voting battleground, and a unified Filipino voice and vote are essential.