Coin toss decides Philippine election contest
PHILIPPINES: A coin toss has decided the lucky winner of mayor
for a small Philippine town, after rival candidates were tied at the end
the vote count, an election official said Thursday.
The dramatic conclusion to the contest for San Teodoro, a farming
town of about 16,000 people in the central Philippines, took place in
the local election office, with the politicians tossing the coin to
decide their fate.
“They agreed to a coin toss, with the candidate getting the most
heads proclaimed the winner,” San Teodoro election chief Reny Pagilagan
told AFP.
He said tension built as the first tie-break competition of five coin
tosses each also ended in a draw, with both politicians getting two
heads, according to Pagilagan.
Marvic Feraren, a member of the ruling Liberal Party, finally emerged
the winner in the second tie-break event, throwing two heads to his
opponent’s one.
“Both of them accepted the result. They shook hands and embraced,”
Pagilagan said.
Pagilagan said Philippine election law stated that tied electoral
contests must be settled by the drawing of lots, of which a coin toss
was an acceptable variant.
Pagilagan said this week’s event was not unprecedented and he had
presided over another coin toss in 2004 to decide the winner of the
final seat on a council board for a nearby town.
AFP |