Unprecedented turnout in voter registration
VOTER turnout in the recent registration organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was higher than expected and no major untoward incident was reported during the nine-day activity.
Provincial election supervisor Marino Salas told local newsmen during the KBP forum Thursday that there were were122,000 new registrants for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and 62,000 regular voters across Pangasinan as of the eighth day, and the numbers did not include reports from 28 towns and cities for the last day of registration last Wednesday.
“We consider this number successful because the turnout far exceeded our target of 50,000 voters for the barangay, and 75,000 for the SK,” Salas said.
The top three local government units with the highest number of new registered voters for regular election are San Carlos City, Bayambang and Dagupan City in descending order, while for SK it’s Bayambang and the cities of San Carlos and Dagupan.
Salas said the high turnout indicates there is “much enthusiasm” among the voting public for the October 28 barangay and SK elections.
MINOR PROBLEMS
The registration was generally trouble-free, according to Salas, as Pangasinenses proved themselves disciplined in lining up and following the registration system.
He noted that unlike in some other areas where there were reports of people getting hurt due to pushing and shoving in the lines, “in Pangasinan there was no such incident, although there were isolated cases of violent reactions but we were able to handle them with the help of the police.”
The usual cases of complaints were the “hakot” system wherein registrants were brought in droves by a potential candidate, cutting line, and flying voters.
The election period starts on September 28 with the filing for certificates of candidacy set on October 15-17 while the campaign period is October 18-26. .—Eva Visperas with report from PIA1-Pangasinan/VHS
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