“We expect a significant turnout of prospective first-time voters in the first three days of registration,” Kabataan Party-list Vice President Carl Marc Ramota said as voters’ registration resumed today.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court nullified Comelec Resolution no. 8585 which shortened the registration period to October 31, 2009 and granted Kabataan Party-list’s petition to extend voters’ registration to January 9, 2010. Based on the Voters Registration Act of 1996, the last day of registration should be 120 days before the day of elections.

“This is the best time to register for the upcoming elections as most students have already gone back to their home provinces and more work leave are given to employees. We call on our fellow youth and other eligible Filipinos to seize the holidays to register for the 2010 elections,” Ramota added.

While there was a significant increase in the number of registered voters from the last national elections, Ramota said a lot of prospective first-time voters were unable to enlist in the shortened registration period.

“We cannot put all the blame on our fellow Filipinos. Comelec also has its share of problems. Throughout the registration process, a number of Comelec offices were only able to accommodate 200 to 300 registrants per day and even run out of registration forms in some areas,” Ramota explained.

“Natural and man-made disasters also prevented a significant number of prospective first-time voters from registering,” he added.

Comelec guidelines contemptuous of SC ruling

Ramota also hit Comelec’s “selective” implementation of the Supreme Court ruling, saying the poll body’s guidelines for the extended registration period is “contemptuous of the High Court’s order.”

Under Comelec Resolution no. 8719, the poll body only allotted five days, December 21 to 23 and December 28 to 29 for the actual registration. The remaining days were set aside to hear oppositions to applications for registration.

“Comelec’s plan to shorten the extended voters’ registration to just five days is simply unacceptable. Voters’ registration in fact should have resumed last week as the Supreme Court’s order is immediately executory,” he pointed out.

He added that Comelec should stop using the extended voters’ registration as an escape goat to cover up for its shortcomings in preparing for the automated elections. “Comelec should stop scaring voters. Instead, it should use voter registration as opportunity to encourage more voters in defending democracy,” he said.

“Kapansin-pansin na lenient ang Comelec sa Smartmatic kahit pa pabagu-pago ito ng deadline at maraming excuses sa pagkakaantala ng delivery ng mga voting machine. Hindi nito sinisingil ang Smartmatic sa automation delays pero ipinapasa ang sisi sa mga botante,” he said.

“While it is important to prepare for the country’s first automated elections, this should not be done at the expense of the people’s basic right to suffrage,” Ramota said.

“Comelec will be doing the greatest injustice to its very mandate and to Filipinos whose right to suffrage it swore to uphold,” he said.

Ramota also challenged presidentiables to release informercials to inform the public about the special registration dates. ###

Reference:
Carl Marc L. Ramota
Kabataan Party-list Executive Vice President
09194138288