Comelec postpones printing of Eleksyon 2022 ballots for OFWs

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has postponed the printing of ballots for overseas Filipino voters in Eleksyon 2022, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said on Wednesday.

Jimenez was referring to the printing of overseas absentee voting ballots for the May elections which was supposed to start today, January 19.

“The printing committee, taking into consideration various technical factors, has moved the start of printing to a date yet to be announced," Jimenez said.

"The tentative start of ballot printing is tomorrow, January 20," he added.

Jimenez, however, assured the public that the postponement won't affect the timeline of the Comelec's preparations for the conduct of the first ever elections amid a COVID-19 pandemic.

"The committee assures the public that this later start will not negatively impact the Comelec's preparations for the elections," Jimenez said.

"The ballot faces will be released as soon as the finalization process has been completed," Jimenez added.

The poll body earlier announced that the state-run National Printing Office will print 67,442,714 ballots for the May elections.

Of this number, 1,697,202 are for overseas voting while 65,745,512 are for local voting.

The May election is set on May 9.

The campaign period for national candidates starts on February 8.

On the other hand, the campaign period for local bets starts on March 8. —NB, GMA News