More than one-third of the expected 61 million voters for the 2019 midterm elections are youth, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez said on Wednesday.
Jimenez said the Comelec has added to the expected number of voters in 2019 those who registered for the recent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
“I think at this point, it’s safe to say that more than one-third of the voters are young voters,” he said in a news forum.
Senior citizens and those in the middle age come next on the expected total number of voters, Jimenez added.
He also advised young voters to focus on the pressing issues of the country, instead of looking too much on the noise of elections.
READ: 2019 polls: Comelec records over 26,000 voter applications in Metro Manila
“The problem is we are overwhelmed by the collateral noise, the noise of the campaign, excitement, and personalities,” he said in Filipino.
He lamented that most voters tend to forget that choosing good people could answer the problems of the country.
Jimenez also warned the youth that “time is running out” for them to choose their bets for the elections, even as the filing of candidacy only starts on Thursday, October 11.
He said the youth should choose politicians who are aware of their issues.
“They should know what you want, what your issues are. That’s what the youth should pay attention to,” he said. /muf