Manila: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced that a nationwide voter registration for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) will commence in late July and last for a duration of 10 days. This announcement was made on Wednesday, during a session at the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum by Comelec Chairperson George Garcia, who emphasized the importance of registering to participate in the elections scheduled for December 1.

According to Philippines News Agency, the voter registration process was previously suspended on September 30 due to the midterm elections. Garcia highlighted the opportunity for individuals to reactivate, transfer registration, or register as new voters within this 10-day period stretching from the last week of July to the first week of August.

Garcia anticipates that approximately 1 million new voters will be registered during this period. With the current number of registered voters standing at 68,431,965, this addition could increase the total to 69.5 million voters for the upcoming BSKE, which Garcia notes is a conservative estimate.

He also clarified that there will be no voter registration in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) despite the upcoming Bangsamoro Parliamentary Election in October. Garcia explained that this decision aims to avoid any confusion or false impressions regarding voter eligibility for the BPE. Only those already registered for the national and local elections will be eligible to vote in October, as there will be no resumption of voter registration in BARMM.