2.6M new voters have signed up for 2010 polls, says Comelec

More than 2.6 million first time voters have signed up for the 2010 elections, contrary to a senator’s claim of a low registration turnout, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said new registrants as June 30 reached 2,653,549, or three times the 841,200 figure mentioned by Senator Francis “Chiz" Escudero. The number is expected to rise further since there are still two months left before the October 31 deadline for registration. There are about 45 million registered voters and the commission said the number could reach 50 million. Jimenez said the high registration turnout is due to the active participation of media organizations and citizens’ groups in encouraging the youth to register. Intensified campaign on voters registration of the Comelec is also one factor that contributed to the high turnout, he said. “We expect the number to even increase especially since most Filipinos prefer to register during the 11th hour," he said. - GMANews.TV