ILOILO City – Voters’ registration will resume beginning July 2, announced the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Western Visayas.
This is in preparation for the 2019 midterm election, said Assistant Regional Director Tomas Valera.
“Our various election offices are ready with their computers,” said Valera.
The registration is from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Valera urged those qualified to vote but not yet registered to have themselves enlisted.
“Do not wait for the last minute,” said Valera.
The last day of registration is Sept. 29 this year.
“We are given a short period for voters’ registration,” said Valera.
Comelec will also be entertaining voters wanting to transfer their registration.
The number of voters for next year’s election could further increase, said Valera.
In last month’s barangay election, Comelec listed 4,475,949 registered voters in Western Visayas.
But according to Valera, people did not give much importance to the barangay election, citing the voter turnout – 76.78 percent or 3.3 million who actually voted. Around a million voters did not participate.
The figures were not surprising, said Valera. Voter turnout in previous barangay elections in the region was also around 70 percent.
The national voter turnout, on the other hand, was at 80 percent, said Valera.
Why is a 100-percent voter turnout in barangay elections hard to attain?
“People do not give much importance sa barangay elections,” said Valera.
Others are busy with work, out of the country or far from where they have registered to vote, he further said.
Valera, however, clarified that the failure to vote in last month’s election does not necessarily mean a voter won’t be able to vote in next year’s midterm election.
The failure to vote in two successive previous elections is what disqualifies a voter from voting in the 2019 election, he said.
For these persons, it is a must to register again to vote, said Valera./PN
