ComeLEC urges Congress to finalize bill postponing BARMM elections

The Commission on Elections (ComeLEC) has urged Congress to finalize Senate Bill 2862, which aims to postpone the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), by December's second week.

ComeLEC Chairman George Garcia highlighted during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Local Government that postponing the elections would allow time for resolving legal issues such as redistributing Sulu’s seven seats after it was excluded from BARMM through a Supreme Court decision.

Garcia emphasized ComeLEC is ready to proceed with either 73 or 80 parliamentary district seats but stressed the need for clarity on seat reallocation and final court ruling before moving forward with elections planning.

Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) spokesperson Omar Yasser Sema stated that BTA will wait for a Supreme Court decision regarding Sulu's exclusion from BARMM, implying no immediate action on seat redistribution despite their authority to do so.

Senator JV Ejercito noted the complexity of balancing legal dilemmas and ensuring elections proceed as planned, without receiving specific instructions from Malacañang Palace on how to handle the bill.