Latest official tally shows 8 party-list groups assured of at least one seat in House

Eight party-list groups which garnered at least 600,000 votes each are assured of at least one seat in the House of Representatives.

This developed after each of the eight groups got at least two percent of votes cast in the party-list elections and be entitled to at least a seat in the next Congress.

The total number of votes cast in the party-list race for the May 2019 polls as of May 19 is 27,309,942. Two percent of that total votes cast is 546,198.84.

Based on the latest partial and official tally by the Commission on Elections sitting as National Board of Canvassers as of May 19, these include:

• Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (2,569,702);
• Bayan Muna (1,102,167);
• Ako Bicol (1,045,670);
• Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (915,840);
• Ang Probinsyano (761,677);
• One Patriotic Coalition of Marginalized Nationals (708,398);
• Marino (679,876); and
• Probinsyano Ako (623,271).

Under the party-list law, each of the eight highest vote garners in the May 2019 party-list contest would be allocated additional seats in the Lower House proportionate to their total number of votes.

A winning party-list breaching the two percent threshold, however, will not be entitled to more than three seats.

A number of party-list organizations outside of the Top 8, however, can still secure a seat in the House of Representatives since the party-list law also requires that 20 percent of the members of the House should come from the party-list ranks.

That would mean around 61 party-list representatives are expected to be elected to the House of Representatives alongside with 246 representatives of legislative districts. —NB, GMA News