Comelec releases initial order of party-list groups

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections released on Wednesday an initial order of party-list groups that would reflect on the official ballots for the May 2019 midterm elections.

The Comelec held an electronic raffle in its main office in Intramuros, Manila in order to determine which party-list would be on the top of the list on the ballot.

According to the data of Comelec, there were 181 party-list groups who filed their Certificate of Nominations and Acceptance during the weeklong filing of certificates in October.

Based on the electronic raffle conducted by the polling body through a computer program, Bayan Muna party-list would be the first in the order on the ballots.

Meanwhile, Kasosyo Producer-Consumer Exchange Association, Inc. partly-list was picked last.

It could be recalled that the said party-list was the group of former Assistant Secretary of the Presidential Communications Mocha Uson.

Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez however clarified that the order of the partly-list groups is still not yet final.

“Just to clarify, these were the raw results of the raffle. Some (party-list) groups failed to attend, so this apparent order on the ballot is not yet final,” he said in a Twitter post.

“These images show the raw results of the raffle. They are not the final assignments of order of appearance on the ballot,” he added.

The official list of the senatorial candidates for next year’s election, meanwhile, will be released by December 15.

A total of 152 senatorial aspirants filed their respective certificates of candidacy as they seek a position in the Senate. /muf