Voter registration applications breach 1-M mark—Comelec

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has received over one million applications for registration in the continuing voter registration nationwide. (Photo: COMELEC Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has received over one million applications for registration in the continuing voter registration nationwide.

Based on data from the Election and Barangay Affairs Department (EBAD) as of Feb. 11, there are 1,124,658 applications that were submitted to the poll body for the Oct. 23 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said they are satisfied with the response of the public.

“We are pleased to note that this outcome is in line with the estimate of the Comelec that there will be over 1 million more voters for the 2017 Barangay and SK elections than the 2016 presidential elections,” he said in a statement.

With this, Jimenez urged the people especially those who are qualified to qualified to be a voter, to register for them to participate in the October 2017 polls as well as future electoral exercises in the country.

“With only two months to go before the end of registration on April 29, we are urging everyone to register now and avoid the long queues when the end of registration nears,” Jimenez added.

There were around 54 million registrants for the May 2016 national and local elections.

As of August last year, 55,203,209 applications have been approved.

The Comelec conducted a 16-day registration activity in July prior to the passage of the law postponing the October 31, 2016 elections.

The voters registration for this year’s village and youth polls started last November 7.