The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) is expecting a low voter turnout during the registration period from August 1 to 10 for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec-NIR regional election director, told the Philippine News Agency yesterday that this is a usual pattern, particularly following the conduct of the national and local elections last May.

“We are expecting only about a five percent increase or even less in the number of registrants as the Comelec has also excluded the transfer of voters this time,” Castillano said.

Only first-time voters (aged 18), those between 15 and 17 years old (for SK officials), and individuals who failed to vote twice in previous elections and who may want to reactivate their voting status, he added.

Castillano explained that due to time restrictions, applications for voter transfers will not be accommodated.

The transfer of a voter to another place is tedious as that person’s original records from where he was first registered are required, he added.

The poll body’s Election Registration Board is requiring that registration applications must be submitted by August 25 for review before the release of the final list of voters.

Registration of voters in August is from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., including Saturdays and Sundays.

Meanwhile, Castillano said they are continuing with the preparations for the BSKE originally set for December 1, this year, pending the final decision of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said last July 10 that the President has yet to receive the enrolled bill seeking the BSKE postponement and extension of officials’ terms for review. (PNA)