Wednesday, January 03, 2007 Editorials: Influx of new voters
THIS one did not fail to gain people’s attention last week: the long line of voter-registrants that crowded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office and caused the closure of a portion of Legaspi St. near the vicinity of the Basilica del Santo Niño.
The horde of young, with a sprinkling of adult, voters may have taken poll officials by surprise.
They cued for hours waiting for their turn under the sun.
But there is something significant in this phenomenon.
The May 14 elections may have taken unique importance in the political mathematics of politicians, particularly those aspiring for major roles in the coming campaign.
Population growth
The country’s population has grown from the 84 million, more or less, in the 2004 elections.
It now seems safe to estimate the republic’s inhabitants at near 90 million.
Or if it is not quite close enough, at least it is within “shouting distance” of the estimated figure.
President’s role
Meanwhile, if the coming polls should proceed, President Arroyo would be constrained to assume much deeper interest in the election’s outcome, more than what she normally would have.
The failed efforts to amend/revise the 1987 Constitution have placed her in a worrisome circumstance.
In the coming elections, the threat of impeachment, depending on the outcome, would be like the fabled sword of Damocles over the presidential head.
Her fate would hang in the balance. For if the people will elect to the Congress more anti-administration congressmen than it has right now, chances are impeach moves would be revived.
And with a House and Senate controlled by the opposition, there would be a better than even chance the impeachment case against the President will prosper.
And, yes, preempting such eventuality could be costly.
Speculation
Of course, this is still in the realm of speculation.
One could not be sure the new voters were brought there by administration or opposition leaders to register, and later on to support those who facilitated their registration.
Likewise, nobody can be sure if the voters went there voluntarily by themselves, driven by a desire to vote.
Still, what is significantly interesting in the few days Comelec opened its offices to the young citizens is that their turnout was unexpectedly tremendous.
