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Comelec: Almost 300 party-list groups want to join 2013 polls


Almost 300 party-list groups have expressed their desire to join the 2013 mid-term polls, data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed.
 
According to documents posted on the Comelec website, 124 registered party-list groups and 165 groups with pending applications for registration have filed their manifestation of intent to participate in the May 2013 elections.
 
The registered party-list groups are as follows:
 
Meanwhile, those with pending applications for registration are:  
In 2010, only 187 party-list groups were allowed to participate in the elections, and only 28 won seats in the House of Representatives.
 
According to the Party-list System Act (Republic Act 7941), those that received at least 2 percent of the total votes cast for the party-list system shall be entitled to one congressional seat each, while those who received more than 2 percent of the votes shall be entitled to additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes. 
 
However, each party-list organization shall not be awarded more than three seats in the House of Representatives.
 
Early this month, the Comelec issued Resolution No. 9513, ordering a review of the party-list groups applying for registration and participation in next year's polls. Critics have said traditional politicians are using some party-list groups to get a seat in the lower house, even though they are not part of a marginalized sector.
 
Last June, the Comelec issued Resolution No. 9467, which allows the poll body to conduct a raffle of accredited party-list groups to determine the order of their listing on the 2013 official ballots. — RSJ/YA, GMA News
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