1 million new voters seen for BSKE

MANILA, Philippines — At least one million additional voters are expected to participate in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) in December, according to the Commission on Elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the poll body is expecting at least one million new voters to participate in the general voter registration that will be conducted for the BSKE.

“If the current number of registered voters is 68.43 million, and let’s say there will be one million new registrants in 10 days, we may have at least 69.5 million voters for the BSKE,” Garcia said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay yesterday.

He said the one million is a conservative estimate for a 10-day continuing voter registration to be conducted from the last and first weeks of July and August, respectively.

Garcia said the Comelec could not hold a longer registration period for the BSKE, because the poll body has to prepare for the conduct of the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro region in October.

“We knew many would want to register, but we have no choice,” Garcia said, noting that after the registration, the Comelec will have to purge the voters’ list to remove double and multiple registrants.

He said preparations for the BSKE must continue unless a law postponing the polls is enacted.