Comelec to launch voter education campaign for 2025 BARMM polls

The Commission on Elections will launch a massive voter education campaign ahead of the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro region next year.

According to the Comelec, the program intends to educate the voting public on the 2025 BARMM polls through a series of micro summits starting September, which will be hosted by the Comelec Education and Information Department (EID).

During said micro summits, experts from the Comelec EID, the Law Department, and the Bangsamoro Electoral Office are expected to discuss the rudiments of the regional parliamentary elections, giving primary focus on what the voters in the region need to know and fully grasp. This includes the composition of the Bangsamoro Parliament, the system of proportional representation, the allocation of parliamentary seats, and the manner of their election.

Voter education teams will also be deployed across the Bangsamoro region to conduct massive voter education and information drives at the ground level.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), a total of 80 parliamentary seats are at stake in the May 2025 polls.  The allocation of the parliamentary seats are as follows: 40 will come from the representatives of Regional Political Parties; 32 from representatives of Parliamentary Districts and eights seats are reserved for sectoral representatives.

BGC backs voter education campaign

The BARMM Grand Coalition (BGC) has expressed support for the voter education campaign, saying it is “essential for the people of the Bangsamoro region”. 

“The success of this electoral exercise is vital to the culmination of our decades-long struggle for self-determination and self-governance,” said Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan  in a news release. 

“Understanding the mechanics of a parliamentary election is essential for the people of the Bangsamoro region. The new system represents a significant shift from previous electoral processes, and it is imperative that every voter is well-informed about how it operates,” he said. 

The BGC also committed to work with the poll body to promote the said program. 

“Our coalition will work closely with the Comelec to reach every corner of the Bangsamoro region, ensuring that no voter is left uninformed about the importance and mechanics of the parliamentary elections,” TESDA Director-General Teng Mangudadatu said. 

“Democracy thrives when the electorate is educated and engaged. If the people do not understand the electoral exercise, democracy itself is at risk of failing,” he said. 

In March 2023, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority passed the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, which will allow democratic participation in the local and regional elections.

It would also open the creation of political parties in the region with representations from women, youth, indigenous people, settler communities, traditional leaders and the Ulama or scholars of Islamic law.

The first-ever election in the Bangsamoro Region was scheduled to be conducted in May 2022 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. —RF, GMA Integrated News