Public voting through Twitter, the Miss Universe website and mobile apps started on January 24 and ends today. Efforts to put Chalita into the top 12 seemed fruitful, as she had the highest scores in Twitter as of press time.

To vote through Twitter, fans should use the hashtag #MissUniverse together with the hashtag of your favourite beauty queen’s country. So to vote for Chalita, the voter must type #MissUniverse #Thailand.

At press time, Miss Universe’s unofficial voting update through Twitter showed that the first ranking was Thailand (14,702,526), followed by Indonesia (14,689,073) and Philippines (14,685,882).

The beauty who wins the public vote will be assured of a place in the top 12.

This year, the contest format was modified with the selection of Top 12 semi-finals in the preliminary competition instead of the usual Top 15. The Top 12 will then be trimmed down to nine candidates based on the judges’ votes and global fan votes, from which the Top 6 and later the Top 3 will be selected.

Another way to vote for your favourite beauty queen is by clicking into website: missuniverse.com/voting and searching for your favourite queen’s country. The other method is the voting by the official MISS U app that can be dowloaded from from the App Store or Play Store.

The new mobile messaging app called Vodi will also allow you to cast your votes.

Any fan can cast votes 10 times a day using the four voting options until today, two days before the coronation day.

The Philippines’ ABS CBN Television station reported that the Miss Universe preliminary competition in swimsuits, long gowns, and national costumes, started on Thursday evening and Chalita was among the top contenders.

Apart from Chalita, Missosology’s Ferdinand Abejon told ABS-CBN News that other top contenders included Miss Universe Venezuela Mariam Habach, Miss Universe Mexico Kristal Silva, Miss Universe Nicaragua Marina Jacoby, and Miss Universe Philippines Maxine Medina.

Kim Kotter, a director and model who was Miss Universe Netherlands 2002, said a mix of Asian and Latina candidates dominated the preliminaries. “This is the best year for the Asian girls – I see it on their faces. They look so elegant, their skin is so smooth. They really did well this year,” she said.