THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) registered an additional 2.5 million people who would like to participate in the 2019 polls.
Comelec Spokesman James B. Jimenez said this was the outcome of their recently concluded voter registration from July 2 to September 29.
The figure exceeded the targeted 1.5 million to 2 million new voters for the three-month registration period.
Jimenez attributed the positive outcome of their voter registration to the growing trust of the public in the country’s democratic process.
He said the Election Registration Boards (ERB) have already started screening the new applications they received before they could finally announce the final list of voters for the May 2019 midterm elections.
“Technically speaking, they are really not yet registered voters officially,” Jimenez said. “Once they are approved by the ERBs, that is the only time one can say that an applicant is already a registered voter.”
Jimenez earlier said they will be able to determine the total number of ballots they print for the 2019 polls after getting the updated list of qualified voters.