Comelec ends BARMM voter registration with 161,429 applicants
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has wrapped up its voters’ registration drive in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with over 160,000 registrations, which surpassed its target of 150,000.
The voters’ registration resumed from February 9, 2026 to March 31, 2026 as the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections (BPE), which were scheduled on March 30, 2026, were earlier postponed by the Comelec.
The data shared by Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia to the media on Wednesday showed a running total of 161,429 registrations. Of this figure, 81,874 came from males and 78,478 from females.
READ: Comelec: BARMM voter registration to resume Feb. 9-Mar.30
Lanao del Sur logged the most number of registrants with 50,918; followed by Maguindanao del Norte with 31,666; and Maguindanao del Sur with 26,175.
Garcia earlier said that the poll body was eyeing to receive around 150,000 registrations ahead of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on Nov. 2 and the BPE on Sept. 14.
The BPE, which has been postponed for the fourth time, was officially reset on the second Monday of September 2026 following the passage of the Republic Act No. 12137 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last March 25.
The law states that “to synchronize the BARMM parliamentary elections with the national and local polls, the regular elections for Bangsamoro Government shall be held on the second Monday of 2031 and every three years thereafter.”
READ: Garcia: Comelec has clear path of preparations for BARMM polls with reset
Garcia also noted that with the resetting of the polls, the Comelec is eyeing to finish the filing period for the certificates of candidacy for the 32 parliamentary districts and accreditation of regional political parties and sectoral organizations by April and May.
After these months, he said that the finalization of the list of candidates must be done by June so the printing and verification of ballots will be finished by July. By the first week of August, it will start deploying election materials, especially to far-flung areas.
The poll body is planning to start the period of filing of certificates of candidacy for the 31 parliamentary districts after Holy Week. Garcia added that the accreditation for the regional political parties and sectoral organizations is ongoing as their previous registrations were scrapped. /das
