Coalition representing youth votes re-launched

CEBU - A national youth group in the province recently relaunched a coalition which aims to lessen the disenfranchised votes of the youth sector come 2010 elections.

The First Time Voters Project, with almost 20 participating organizations, call on first-time voters and those that have not yet been registered to have themselves recorded at the Commission on Election local offices.

Ailee Tejano, project director, said that the quantity of the youth sector in the country is seen to have a very crucial impact in the next elections and the sector alone may even elect the next President.

According to Tejano, records have shown that there were five million, two million, and six million disenfranchised votes in the 2001, 2004, and 2007 elections, respectively.

“We would like to ensure that we will not have yet another case of millions of first-time voters not having their chance to cast their votes in 2010,” Tejano said.

The project is coordinated under the Youth Vote Philippines, a national organization.

The said coalition works under a four-point agenda which not only include voters registration, but also on the ground voters education, an online portal for comprehensive candidate information and development of a youth agenda for policymaking and action.

Project coordinator Ernie Edralin said that votes were disenfranchised because of the lack of information, inaccessibility of registration venues, and differences in the requirements for different areas.

“The lessons of the past elections and the current political landscape gave us basis to be proactive in encouraging fellow youth to participate and not allow ourselves to be muted in the electoral exercise that is very crucial in the coming months,” Edralin said.

Since the First Time Voters Project is already operating way back 2001, Edralin said they have not so far been branded as partisan.

The groups under the FTV Network-Cebu are Ayala Young Leaders Alliance-Cebu, Movement for the Advancement of Student Power-University of the Philippines Cebu, University of the Visayas Political Science Society, Cebu Political Science Societies, Sobusteha Youth Association, Cogon Pardo Community Based Youth, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations, Akbayan Youth, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines, National Youth Commission-Visayas, National Anti-Poverty Commission Youth and Student Sector, Center for Participatory Governance and Fellowship for Organizing Endeavors. — Ferliza C. Contratista/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)