The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to hold a special election for around 7,000 voters in Lanao Del Sur on Tuesday to finally proclaim the winning party-list groups this week.
Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Operations Teopisto E. Elnas Jr. announced they would be conducting the special elections in 15 clustered precincts in 12 barangays in Tubaran, Lanao Del Sur.
“All the preparations are in place. We are all systems go for tomorrow,” Elnas said in a news conference on Monday.
A total of 6,921 voters are expected to participate in the special polls.
After the said activity, Comelec Commissioner George M. Garcia said they expect the completion of the Certificate of Canvass (COC) for the entire province of Lanao Del Sur, which will be then sent to the Comelec en banc sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) to be processed by Wednesday.
“Then perhaps we can proclaim the party list winners by May 26 [2022],” Garcia said.
Crucial votes
He noted the election result in Tubaran would be crucial since some of the party-list groups only have a small difference in the number of their votes.
“When you look at the numbers, the 63rd to 64th places are only separated by 1,000 votes or less than 2,000 votes,” Garcia said.
A total of 63 seats in the House of Representatives will be allocated for party-list groups for the 19th Congress depending on the vote count.
Garcia said they are determined to conduct the party-list groups’ proclamation this week after they postponed it from its original schedule on May 19, 2022.
“We feel embarrassed for those which already have guaranteed seats. They could have been proclaimed last week. But we opted to hold one proclamation instead…. so at all cost we would proclaim them latest on Thursday,” Garcia said.
Explanation
To note, the Comelec en banc declared failure of elections through its Minute Resolution No. 22-0648 in 12 barangays in Tubaran as well as one barangay each for the municipalities of Butig and Bindayan in Lanao Del Sur due to reported incidents of election violence in the said locations.
The resolution was based on the recommendation of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Regional Election Director Ray Sumalipao.
However, upon the poll body’s verification of the situation in Butig and Binadayan, Garcia disclosed they learned that elections were successfully held in the two areas.
“We based it (Minute Resolution No. 22-0648) in the initial report to us. We acted upon it quickly. It turns out there was no failure of elections,” Garcia said.
This prompted the Comelec en banc to scrap the scheduled special election in Butig and Binadayan.
Garcia said they already asked Director Sumalipao to come to Manila and explain why he included Butig and Binadayan in his recommendation of areas to be covered by special election.
Special polls in Shanghai
When asked if the special elections in Shanghai in China could also affect the party-list groups’ results, Garcia said they would have to wait first for the result in Tubaran.
“If there will still be issues in the rankings [of party-list groups], then we will cross the bridge when we get there,” Garcia said.
The elections in Shanghai were postponed due to the lockdown imposed by the Chinese government to prevent the spread Covid-19 in the city.
There are over 1,991 registered voters in Shanghai.
Acting Comelec spokesperson John Rex C. Laudiangco said there is still no date for the conduct of the special polls in Shanghai as of Monday despite the recent easing of curbs in the city.
“So far we are still waiting for our request from the host country [China]. That is necessary for us to conduct the special elections there. And the decision of the Comelec en banc will come immediately after the response of the host country,” Laudiangco said.