The Commission on Elections (Comelec) rejected senators’ appeal to extend voter registration period for another month, but will expand voter registration hours even on holidays.
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement on Wednesday (Aug. 18) that the Commission en banc discussed and decided against the proposal of seven lawmakers.
Jimenez said this is due to a possible domino effect on their established timeline for the 2022 national and local elections.
The poll body said the registered voter target count has been met despite the implementation of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that resulted in registration delays.
There are more than 60 million registered voters in the country, a record higher than Comelec’s target of 59 million individuals. Of the total, 4.3 million are newly eligible registrants.
The commission has yet to issue a resolution regarding extended voter registration hours.
“There will be [an] extension of hours, aabot tayo hanggang lampas alas singko. The resolution will come out soon. We will get the details from there,” Jimenez said.
“Pero extended na ang hours, open on Saturdays and holidays until the remainder of the registration period or end of September,” he added. – Report from Kenneth Paciente/AG- jlo
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