MANILA, Philippines — The proclamation of winning partylist groups was put on hold to wait for the voting results in Lanao del Sur where special elections in some areas will be held.
The supervisory committee of the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) recommended that the proclamation of the winning partylist groups be put on hold as the results from Lanao del Sur “will greatly affect the determination of the winning partylist groups and the number of seats to which each is entitled.”
“[It is recommended that] the proclamation for the winning partylist groups be done only after receipt of the results from the province of Lanao del Sur,” the supervisory committee said.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc, which sits as the NBOC and is tasked to proclaim the winning senatorial and partylist groups, adopted the supervisory group’s recommendation.
The Comelec initially intended to proclaim some of the winning partylist groups on Thursday, May 19.
The Comelec earlier declared failure of elections in 14 barangays in three Lanao del Sur municipalities—one barangay in Butig town, one barangay in Binidayan town, and 12 barangays in Tubaran town.
READ: Failure of elections declared in 14 barangays in Lanao del Sur
A special election will be held in the said areas. So far, the Comelec has set the special elections for the 12 villages in Tubaran town of Lanao del Sur on May 24.
READ: Comelec en banc all set for special elections in Lanao del Sur town on May 24
Comelec chair Saidamen Pangarungan said the canvassing of votes for the partylist groups will resume on May 25.
Meanwhile, the proclamation of the winning senatorial candidates will proceed on Wednesday, May 18 as the votes from Lanao del Sur will no longer affect the ranking in the senatorial race.