Poll registration
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) would do well now to decide whether or not to extend the voter registration period, which is scheduled to end on Friday, September 30.
This after the country’s lawmakers called for the extension of the registration period owing to the continued imposition of lockdowns in various parts of the country.
In asking the poll body to reset the deadline, the House of Representatives, in Resolution No. 2231, cited the several suspension of voter registration due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House resolution also said that our migrant workers abroad face registration issues because embassy and consulate personnel have limited time to accommodate registrans.
Various quarters noted the importance of allowing more people to participate in the May 9, 2022 election, when the nation goes to the polls to elect new government officials.
Note that the forthcoming political exercise, which is “democracy in action,” is a presidential election, which is held every six years in the Philippines.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has placed the voting population for next year’s automated elections at 73.3 million of the country’s more than 110 million population.
However, the poll body, despite the continuing registration of voters across the country, has only listed more than 60 million voters.
In the past, the Comelec, which is mandated by the 1987 Constitution to conduct national and local elections every three years, extended the voter registration period until October.
It’s certainly time to decide wheter or not to extend the voter registration period.
