JUST days after the May 12 midterm elections recorded a high 81.65 percent voter turnout, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said it is looking at resuming voter registration activities in July.
Comelec chairman George Garcia said, though, that the registration period would only be for a short period since the Voter’s Registration Act prohibits such activity 120 days before a regular election and 90 days before a special election.
The poll body is scheduled to hold the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on December this year.
“The resumption of the general voter registration may happen by July to August but it will only be for a short period,” Garcia said.
He explained that “we can’t have a longer period because we still have to hold hearings for the Election Registration Board (ERB). We only have a brief preparation period for the BSKE.”
Asked if the general voter registration will also be held in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the poll chief said commissioners have yet to discuss the matter.
The BARMM Parliamentary Elections (BPE) is set to be conducted in October this year.
“We will talk about it because we don’t want to create confusion for (new) BARMM voters as they may think they will be able to vote in the parliamentary elections,” Garcia said.
He clarified that only BARMM voters who participated during the May 12 midterm elections can cast their votes during the parliamentary polls “since it is just the continuation of the national and local elections.”
