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7K Filipino absentee voters in NMI eyed
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Posted on Jan 25 2009
[B]By HAIDEE V. EUGENIO[/B]
[I]haidee_eugenio@saipantribune.com
REPORTER[/I]
REPORTER[/I]
An estimated 7,000 contract workers from the Philippines are expected to qualify to register as absentee voters for the 2010 presidential elections, according to Philippine Consul General in the CNMI Wilfredo DL. Maximo.
Registration starts on Feb. 1 and ends on Aug. 31.
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.
“Those who didn’t vote in the last 2004 and 2007 elections should register again this coming registration period, from February to August 2009, if they want to vote in the 2010 presidential polls,” Maximo told Saipan Tribune.
The Philippine Consulate General expects more registrants this year than the last registration period because 2010 is a presidential election. However, because of the downturn in the CNMI economy, many Filipino workers have already gone back home and might therefore affect the outcome of the registration.
The 2010 national elections would be the third time that Filipinos abroad will participate in elections in the Philippines while away from home.
Of the over 8,000 Filipino workers in the CNMI who registered to vote in 2003 for the 2004 presidential elections, a little over 5,000 cast their votes.
During the 2006 registration for the 2007 midterm polls, some 3,000 Filipinos in the CNMI registered. Of this number, about 2,000 cast their votes.
