1.9 million overseas voters in 2019 polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) expects nearly 2 million overseas voters in the May 2019 midterm polls.

The Comelec and the Department of Foreign Affairs Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA OVS) cited the current number of overseas voter registration which already reached an all-time high of 1.6 million.

“At the current rate of the Overseas Voter registration, by the end of registration period on September 30, 2018, there will be around 1.9 million overseas voters for the 2019 national elections,” the Comelec and DFA OVS said in a statement.

Comelec Commissioner Luie Tito F. Guia, who is in charge of overseas voting, attributed the big number to the hardwork of the men and women in Foreign Service and the poll body who have been encouraging overseas Filipinos to exercise their right to vote.

"Our media partners, bloggers and other Overseas Voter stakeholders are also playing an important role in creating awareness among our countrymen abroad," he said.

Guia, meantime, encouraged qualified Filipinos overseas to register.

He said all Filipino citizens who expect to be abroad from April 13 to May 13, 2019 during the overseas voting period for the 2019 Elections, at least 18 years old on 13 May 2019, and not otherwise disqualified by law, may register as an overseas voter.