Comelec halts printing of BARMM polls ballots to clarify some 'issues'

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has temporarily suspended the printing of official ballots for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections as it seeks to clarify some issues for the October 13 polls.

In a Zoom interview on Thursday, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia revealed that the Commission was caught off guard by a mandatory “none of the above” option included in the election code.

“Ang laging katanungan, paano kung si ‘none of the above’ ang manalo? May ipoproklama ba tayong kandidato?" Garcia asked.

(What if ‘none of the above’ wins? Will we proclaim any candidate?)

Under the exploratory note attached to the provision, if “none of the above” secures more than 50% of the votes, a special election must be called. If the vote falls below 50%, the second-placer rule applies.

Garcia said that this could run into conflict with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that abandoned the second-placer doctrine.

“The problem is, walang malinaw na rules kung paano gagawin ito (there are no clear rules on how to treat this). The danger is Comelec might be forced to legislate, which we cannot do,” he stressed.

Political parties in the region, many of whom only learned of the provision during an emergency meeting called by Comelec, also expressed alarm. 

"Even members of Parliament said they didn’t know how "none of the above" was inserted. This could disenfranchise voters and create legal complications,” Garcia noted.

Comelec also paused the printing of ballots after receiving an unofficial copy of a Bangsamoro Parliament bill that reconfigures district boundaries.

“Proceed ka ng proceed, sa bandang huli, mali na pala ang iimprinta mo (If we push ahead, in the end, we may have printed the wrong ballots),” he said.

Garcia, however, maintained that the suspension of ballot printing is only temporary as he assured residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) that the October 13 elections will proceed as scheduled.

“Tuloy na tuloy ang halalan sa Bangsamoro. (The elections in Bangsamoro will definitely push through),” Garcia said, emphasizing that only an act of Congress can legally postpone the polls. 

Garcia said Comelec is consulting political parties, civil society groups, and observers to resolve the issues before the end of September, ahead of the official start of the campaign period.

“We need a clear resolution on this. Otherwise, the Bangsamoro elections could face legal challenges and uncertainty,” he said.

The October 13 polls will mark the first-ever parliamentary elections in BARMM, a historic milestone for the region’s transition to self-governance. —VAL, GMA Integrated News