Comelec: 1.6M overseas voters yet to register for Eleksyon 2022

Around 1.6 million Filipinos abroad have yet to register for the 2022 national and local elections, the Commission on Elections said Friday.

In its second media conference, which focused on overseas voting, Atty. Philip Luis Marin from the Comelec Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) said a total or 1,423,941 qualified overseas voters registered as of May 19, 2021.

This excluded those who have multiple registration in Comelec’s system.

“The target upon consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs to register is about 1.6 million or more if possible,” Marin said.

Moreover, Marin said the Comelec is expecting over 580,000 voter turnout from Filipinos abroad in the upcoming polls.

“Ang estimated number of voter turnout na tinitingnan namin will be about 580,212. Ang estimation na pwede pa ma-register sa overseas voting is around 1,657,715,” Marin said.

(The estimated number of voter turnout that we are expecting will be about 580,212. The estimated number of those who are yet to register for overseas voting is around 1,657,715.)

Marin hoped that more overseas voters will cast their ballots in the upcoming polls.

In his presentation, Marin showed that the number of overseas voters’ registration has been increasing since 2004.

In 2019, there are 1.822 million voters abroad who registered while in 2016, there are 1.376 million registered Filipinos.

The voter turnouts, however, were high during presidential elections.

As shown in his presentation, 31% of the total registered voters abroad have casted their votes during the 2016 elections, while only 18.46% of total registered voters abroad have participated in the 2019 midterm elections.

Registration period for overseas voting runs from December 16, 2019 until September 30, 2021. —LBG, GMA News