THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) recorded its most peaceful election in Marawi City on Saturday (September 22), when it conducted its barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) with zero casualties.
“No untoward incident has been reported and the Comelec now considers #BSKE2018 in Marawi to have been the most peaceful one in the recent history of Marawi City,” Comelec Spokesman James B. Jimenez said in a statement.
Moreover, he said there was no case of a failure of election during the activity, since all the 177 clustered precincts in the city opened and closed on time.
As of Sunday, all the winning candidates in the 96 barangays in Marawi City have already been proclaimed.
Candidates ran unopposed in 26 of these 96 barangays.
The Comelec lauded its personnel and partner government agencies and other organizations which helped in the successful conduct of the BSKE in Marawi City.
Jimenez also thanked the voters in Marawi City for participating in the polls.
“The Comelec congratulates the people of Marawi City, without whose participation and dedication – in unstinting cooperation with the members of the Electoral Boards and Comelec field officials and personnel—this successful electoral exercise, with zero failures, would not have been possible,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez noted they are still collating the voter participation data for the said BSKE, but he said their initial report indicate a “healthy voter turnout.”
The Comelec en banc decided to reset the BSKE in Marawi City from May to September of this year due to security concerns. The once-progressive Islamic City was laid siege to by homegrown terrorists, the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group, for five months in 2017.