Manila, March 17 -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday that nearly 77,000 applicants are looking to become registered voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The poll body said it has received 76,942 voter registrants in the region from Feb. 9 to March 16.

Of the six provinces in the BARMM, Lanao del Sur has the highest number of applicants, with 20,447.

It is followed by Maguindanao del Norte with 16,514 and Maguindanao del Sur with 11,966.

Basilan has 10,865 applicants, followed by Tawi-Tawi with 9,326 and the Special Geographic Area with 7,824.

The voter registration period in the region began on Feb. 9 and will run until March 31.

Earlier, the poll body said it is expecting about 10...