Comelec resumes ballot printing for BARMM polls
The Commission on Elections resumes the printing of official ballots for the BARMM Parliamentary Elections on Thursday, August 28, at the National Printing Office in Quezon City. (Photo by Comelec/Viber)
MANILA, Philippines — As the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resumed printing official ballots for the first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections on Thursday, the poll body aims to complete the printing by September 15, nearly a month before the elections.
According to Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia on Thursday, the poll body will print a total of 2,250,935 ballots.
READ: Comelec to resume ballot printing for BARMM polls on Aug. 28
“We will start the printing of ballots this August 28. Based on our estimate, which is very conservative, we will finish the ballot printing on September 15, based on the original districting,” Garcia, speaking in Filipino, said in his speech at the National Printing Office in Quezon City.
Garcia noted that the poll body has begun printing ballots for Tawi-Tawi, which is the farthest area in the region.
The ballot printing was suspended last week following the approval of a bill redistributing the seven parliamentary seats originally allocated to Sulu province. The bill was signed by BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua on Thursday.
Ballot face template for Akbar, Basilan for the BARMM Parliamentary Elections.
The Bangsamoro Government redistributed the parliamentary district seats following a Supreme Court decision that excluded Sulu from the region after the province rejected the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in a plebiscite.
Following this development, Garcia announced that the Comelec will not implement the law, citing a lack of sufficient time for the poll body’s preparation for the parliamentary elections.
Should the poll body adapt to the new law, Garcia said that election materials may be deployed by October 20, which is exactly a week after elections.
READ: Comelec not applying law on BARMM’s parliamentary seats redistribution
“If we adjust, the printing of ballots may be finished by September 30, with verification and reprinting if there are bad ballots. We don’t have material time,” Garcia added.
Garcia noted that while there is no opening for filing of certificates of candidacy due to the redistribution of seats, the ballot faces would be affected by changes in composition.
Garcia explained that the automated election system would need to reconfigure each district, and the process can take up to 15 days.
He previously said that the redistribution of seats, which transfers municipalities from one district to another, might complicate the ballot printing process since the ballots are precinct-specific and include photos of candidates and logos of political parties.
The ballot faces released on the Comelec website show the “none of the above” option for voters, along with the photos of candidates and logos of political parties. Garcia previously said that the “none of the above” serves as the choice for those who do not want to vote for anyone in a certain position.
Garcia once again raised the issue concerning the option, with the poll body questioning if it would be treated as a candidate, and who would be proclaimed if it gets the highest number of votes in a certain position.
“That will be decided by the Comelec in the first week of October, we are just waiting for political parties to submit their position papers,” he said. /mr
