Comelec’s Guanzon sees lower voter turnout in 2022 national polls

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon. File photo

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said Wednesday voter turnout in the 2022 national elections will likely decrease as COVID-19 fears continue to hound voter registration.

Guanzon said this as she reiterated her call to prioritize the vaccination of election workers to allow them to mount registration sites in barangays.

“Kailangan po sa election natin, kailangan po ang registration talaga kasi ang turnout, ako personally, ang tingin ko bababa talaga,” Guanzon said in an interview over Teleradyo.

(In an election, what we need is registration because I personally think the turnout will really go down.)

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Guanzon pointed out that in the last national elections, voter turnout was at 70 percent, which was already high by Philippine standards. On the other hand, there are over 3.2 million new voter registrants, according to the latest available data from Comelec.

“Ang national average natin sa turnout last election is 70 percent, mataas po yun,” she added.

(The national average of turnout in the last election is at 70 percent, that’s high.)

“Ang panawagan po namin sa mga mayor at IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases], kung puwede po i-prioritze po ang election personnel namin sa Comelec para maka-barangay satellite registration na po kami,” Guanzon said.

(Our call to the mayors and the IATF, if they could prioritize Comelec’s election personnel so we could start barangay satellite registrations.)

“Natatakot po talaga ang mga tao lumabas lalo na po yung may mga edad na,” she went on.

(The people are scared to go out, especially the elderlies.)

Voter registration in the so-called NCR Plus has resumed after its quarantine classification was eased. Voters may register from Mondays to Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

EDV