Comelec wants SK polls postponed until after 2016 polls

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillante. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Monday it would push for another postponement of the Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections, which has earlier been re-scheduled for February 2015.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said it would be best to postpone the youth council elections until after the 2016 national elections.

In an interview, Brillantes proposed that the SK elections be synchronized with the next barangay (village) elections to remove any distractions from preparations for the 2016 national and local elections.

“The SK election is set on February 21, 2015. But we have a request now to lawmakers to postpone it until October 2016,” he said, adding that synchronizing the SK elections with an already established election date for barangay officials should not be a problem.

“[The SK polls] might hamper our ongoing preparation for the 2016 elections. The ongoing registration might also be affected. There might be conflict because we will also hold registration for the SK polls. And then there is a law saying that when there is an election, the registration should be suspended,” Brillantes explained.

The Comelec announced last week the setting of the SK polls on February 21, 2015. The Comelec set the date after President Benigno Aquino III signed on Oct. 3, 2013, Republic Act No. 10632, postponing the SK elections originally set on Oct. 28, 2013 to allow Congress to reform the much-politicized and graft-tainted youth council.

The law also set Oct. 28, 2014 and Feb. 23, 2015 as the period within which the poll body could set the date for the SK elections.

The conduct of the registration for the SK polls will be held on Sept. 20 to 29 in the offices of election officers in every city and town.

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