Comelec won’t extend ARMM voter registration

Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday it would not extend the registration of voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) despite reports of sporadic violence that supposedly discouraged people from signing up for the 2013 elections.

The 10-day registration period, which began on July 9, officially ended on Wednesday.

“This is to dispel rumors that are circulating that there will be an extension. We are informing the public that there will be no extension,” Election Commissioner Rene Sarmiento told reporters on Wednesday.

Sarmiento said Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. had asked him to make the official announcement on Wednesday.

The commissioner said the election body saw no reason to extend the registration since it has already given the public enough time to register.

“We’ve long announced [the schedule of the registration],” said Sarmiento. “Second, we have to consider the preparations because this is not easy. Our field officials are tired already especially those assigned in far-flung areas such as Tawi-Tawi,” he added.

Earlier, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy urged the Comelec to seriously consider giving the people in the ARMM three more days to register to avoid disenfranchisement among potential voters.

In making this appeal, the group cited reports of sporadic violence in the region, which has discouraged voters from registering.

Sarmiento said on Wednesday, the big turnout of potential voters in various registration centers in the region was expected as they tried to make it to the deadline.

“Based on the voting pattern of Filipinos every election and during registration, a lot of people are really scrambling for last minute registration and voting,” he said.

The Comelec was prompted to hold a voters’ registration after Congress pushed for the annulment of the book of voters in the ARMM, which had about 1. 7 million voters in the 2010 polls.

A study by the National Statistics Office showed discrepancies in the total population of the region, which triggered suspicions that the book of voters was padded either by ghost, minor, double or multiple registrants.