2 million new voters expected in 2010

Nearly two million more young voters are likely to participate in the 2010 elections that will include the selection of a new president.

Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chair Tita de Villa said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) expects 1.96 million youths to register and vote in the presidential elections.

The population of young voters will now reach almost 11 million, more than enough to make a difference in swinging the vote and installing a new president, De Villa said.

To enable more voters to participate in the 2010 polls, the Comelec and the PPCRV are mounting the “Bagong Bida Botanteng Pilipino-Magpalista Ka” campaign.

The Comelec will set up a satellite office at the University at Sto. Tomas on Dec. 2 to kick off the campaign and encourage students there and from nearby Far Eastern University to register, De Villa said

“We could only accommodate 200 students on Dec. 2, but we expect the event to encourage other young voters to also register,” she stressed.

She added that the Comelec would conduct similar campaigns in other universities nationwide.

Comelec’s Election and Barangay Department (EBAD) director Teofisto Alnas said new voters are required to register at the Comelec office but it is now setting up satellite offices for young voters to register from Dec. 2 to 19 and Jan. 2 to Dec. 15, 2009.

“The Comelec is requesting new voters to register early because we would not be able to accommodate them all at the same time,” Alnas said.

He said the Comelec would also cleanse the national voters’ list while it would continue registering new voters. – Mayen Jaymalin