100K registrants in four months boost hopes for 2M migrant voters in 2016

Overseas registrants increased by 50 percent for the month of August from July, the Overseas Voting Secretariat (OVS) said on Tuesday.
 
According to OVS, the  increase was the highest since registration for overseas voters started on May 6.

The secretariat said overseas voter registration increased by more than 50 percent from 24,366 to 37,479 over the July 2014 monthly tally.
 
It said the tally in August set a new milestone for the period "by bringing the four-month total of new overseas voter registrants to 101,351. "

There were 18,670 new registrants in May and 20,836 in June.
 
“At the current pace of registration, we could have an overseas voter stock of over two million for the 2016 presidential elections. Attaining this goal can definitely be a game changer,” said OVS Chairman Rafael E. Seguis.
 
Foreign service posts (FSP) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) processed the most registrants at 20,079, with Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai comprising the top three countries with the most number of registrants among all regions.
 
North and South America followed MENA at 7,242 registrants, Europe at 4,278, and Asia-Pacific with 3,540.
 
MENA attributed its success to the integration of overseas voters registration with the passport renewal process. It accounted for 54 percent of August's total voter's registration.
 
OVS wrote that security concerns in countries such as Libya, Ukraine, and the Gaza strip, and aging equipment hampered the registration process.
 
It wrote that "despite the meager resources" allocated to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), it is closely coordinating with the OVS to address the situation.
 
July saw the first time overseas voters breached the one-million mark in 11 years, prompting Seguis to predict an overseas voter stock of two million for the 2016 presidential elections. 

All Filipino citizens who expect to be abroad from April 9 to May 9, 2016 and are of legal age by May 9 may register as an overseas voter at all FSPs, including registration centers in Manila. 

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