Comelec prints over 2.2M ballots for BARMM elections

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has completed the printing of over 2.2 million official ballots for the first regular parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), scheduled for October 13.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia reported that 2,250,935 official ballots have been printed, with the printing process resuming on August 28.

The verification of ballots for Basilan, Maguindanao del Sur, Special Geographic Area, and Tawi-Tawi has been completed.

Verification for Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, and Cotabato City is ongoing and expected to conclude by next Tuesday or Wednesday.

A total of 13,396 election workers will be deployed for the elections, excluding additional security personnel.

Approximately 2.25 million registered voters are expected to participate across BARMM's five provinces, three cities, and 105 municipalities.

Voting will occur in 1,184 centers, comprising 3,461 clustered precincts spread across 2,185 villages.

The electoral boards, primarily composed of public school teachers, will consist of 10,393 individuals.

Special provincial teams, including lawyers, IT staff, and crisis monitoring personnel, will also be deployed by Comelec.

Comelec's packing and shipping committee will handle the deployment of poll paraphernalia, with all cargoes placed in shipping containers to ensure simultaneous arrival at their destinations.