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Voter registration for OFWs starts tomorrow
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Posted on Jan 30 2009
Tomorrow marks the first day of absentee voting registration for qualified Filipinos in the CNMI, according to Philippine Consul General in the CNMI Wilfredo DL. Maximo.
Qualified workers should proceed to the Philippine Consulate General office on the 5th floor of the Marianas Business Plaza (formerly Nauru Building) in Susupe.
The registration is from 9am to 4pm.
Maximo said Filipinos have until Aug. 31, 2009, to register. With the exception of the first day on Feb. 1, which is a Sunday, registration will be from Monday to Friday.
In the CNMI, an estimated 7,000 contract workers from the Philippines are expected to qualify to register as absentee voters for the May 14, 2010 presidential elections.
The 2010 national elections would be the third time that Filipinos abroad will participate in elections in the Philippines while away from home.
Because it’s a presidential—rather than a mid-term—election, more Filipino workers are expected to register to vote.
Filipinos abroad are allowed to vote for senatorial candidates and party-list groups during the local and congressional polls, and during national elections, for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, in accordance with the Philippine Republic Act 9189, or the Absentee Voting Act of 2003.
Maximo said the names of those who registered in 2003 and 2006 but did not vote in the 2004 or 2007 Philippine elections will be purged from the list of certified absentee voters, so they have to come in for this year’s registration if they want to vote for the upcoming presidential polls.
However, the consulate general is also taking into account the effect on the number of registered voters of the weak CNMI economy which has forced many workers from the Philippines to go home.
Those who wish to register should present a valid Philippine passport.
