40 Phl youth groups press voter registration extension

By Mar T. Supnad

Around 40 youth groups nationwide urged the Commission on Elections to extend voter registration saying eight months of registration were lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
    Groups included AkbayanPartylist, AkbayanYouth,Youth with Risa Hontiveros (You+RH), First Time Voters’ Network (FTVN) and the Center for Youth Advocacy and Networking (CYAN).
    Representatives of the groups went to the Comelec main office in Manila Tuesday and asked the polling body to extend registration until January 2022.
    They gave a letter-petition signed by more than 40 youth groups and student organizations urging the Comelec to reconsider its earlier decision to deny request for extension.
    “The pandemic has already stolen so much from us. Huwagnamanhayaan ng Comelecnapatiangkarapatan mag-rehistro at bumoto ng kabataan at mamamayan ay agawin ng pandemiya,” Akbayan spokesperson Dr. RJ Naguit said in a statement.
    “The nation lost close to eight months worth of voter’s registration due to Covid-19 and numerous lockdowns. In 2020 alone, voter registration was suspended nationwide for almost six months. In 2021, some areas in the country lost close to as many as 50 days. We ask the Comelec to extend the period of voting until January. Extending until Jan. 8 not only restores some of that lost time, it also prevents massive voter disenfranchisement,” Naguit said.
    It was reported earlier the Comelec would not extend the period of voter registration and has opted to extend voter registration hours.
    It said that the number of registered voters already totals 61 million.
    However, Naguit said that this was far below 73.3 million, which is the projected number of total available voters according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Of that number, up to 25 million belongs to the youth.
    The youth groups also called on the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to classify voter registration as an essential activity for the Comelec to pursue more satellite registration activities in cooperation with the private sector.
    “The act of voting is an essential activity. It is essential for democracy to survive and prosper amid a pandemic. If we want a stronger voter turnout and a more representative picture of the elections, an extended period for registration is not optional, it is essential,” Naguit said,
    To dramatize their calls, they wore white shirts and carried posters saying “I-Extend HanggangEnero.”