ANFREL member in the Philippines, the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), said the special election in Cavite on 25 February 2023 was peaceful and smooth but the voter turnout was low.

In two updates released on Election Day, NAMFREL said that the electoral process was peaceful and smooth in the morning with most polling stations observed opening on time. The voter turnout in the morning, however, was low.

NAMFREL observed that some vote counting machines (VCMs) malfunctioned or shutdown with some experienecing ballot paper jams. In some places, the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) was not printed clearly. COVID-related protocols were also not implemented consistently.

Towards the end of the day, NAMFREL said for the closing and counting processes, the VCMs functioned normally with two polling places observered VCMs failed to print audit logs. NAMFREL said this did not compromise the results in the said polling places.

Justice secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla won during the 2022 elections as Cavite District 7 representative but vacated the position when he was appointed to the Justice Department by President Bongbong Marcos.

NAMFREL national chairperson Angel S. Averia Jr and secretary general Eric Jude O. Alvia led the team of observers on Election Day. The final testing and seating of VCMs were also observed in several votingh centers on 19 February 2023.

Read the Update #01 and #02 here.