A total of 26,451 young residents here have registered for next year’s national and local elections, records of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office here showed on Monday.

The number shows that about 30 percent of the total 85,635 registered voters whose names were sent to the poll body’s Election Registration Board (ERB) for approval, comprises individuals aged 18-30.

The latest satellite registration in Barangay Banilad here on July 31 netted a total of 93 young would-be voters.

City election officer, Lawyer Ian Macaraya, in an interview on Monday reiterated the Comelec’s appeal for eligible voters to register at the earliest time possible before the Sept. 30, 2021 deadline to avoid long lines and last-minute changes in their personal information.

He said satellite registration will continue every Saturday at a different barangay venue and will also return to the Robinsons Place shopping mall soon.

Meanwhile, the city Comelec office will also conduct a satellite registration for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Dumaguete Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Barangay Bajumpandan on Aug. 7.

About 100 PDLs are targeted for registration on that day, Macaraya said. (PNA)