US President Barack Obama swept to re-election victory in the mock elections at Xavier University on Nov 7. Obama won by a whopping 703 votes over contender former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney who garnered only 403 votes. The results replicated the turnout of the actual US elections.

The activity, which was participated in by students of XU and Liceo de Cagayan University, was part of the election watch organized by the US embassy in partnership with Xavier University spearheaded by the History/International Studies/Political Science Department and the American Corner.

 “Our goal is to raise students’ awareness on the need to cast their votes based on issues and not merely on political affiliation,” said Dr Roel Absin, chairperson of the History/IS/Political Science department.
A live feed of CNN’s election coverage was also shown while US Embassy officials shed light on the US electoral system. Days before, mock debates were held at XU and Liceo de Cagayan University.

Besides XU, mock elections were also held in 14 other universities in the country with an American Corner, and also in shopping malls in Manila and Cebu.