Comelec

Ballot printing

January 26, 2022 People's Tonight 359 views

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) hopes to complete the printing of ballots two weeks before May 9, when the electorate goes to the polls to elect new government executives.

Aside from the successor of President Duterte, others to be elected are a new vice president, 12 senators, hundreds of district and party-list solons, and thousands local government officials.

The poll body, chaired by Sheriff Abas, started printing the ballots on January 20 , beginning with the manual ballots to be used by the nation’s overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Aside from overseas Pinoys, local absentee voters and electors in the 63 villagers in North Cotabato that joined the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will also vote manually.

The Comelec plans to complete printing the record 67,442,714 ballots by April 21 or two weeks before election day. But overseas workers will start voting on April 10.

We commend the poll body for doing everything to ensure the holding of peaceful, honest, credible and orderly presidential, congressional, regional and local polls on May 9.

“Talagang ginagawa ng mga taga-Comelec ang lahat para matuloy ang halalan kahit na nandiyan pa rin ang nakakatakot na coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” said a new voter.

This is expected, he said, because the holding of regular elections in democratic societies, like the Philippines, is indispensable and mandated by the fundamental law of the land.

In this impoverished Southeast Asian nation of more than 110 million election-crazy people, regular national and local elections are held every three years.

Only the President, Vice President and Senators hold office for six years, while members of the House of Representatives and local government officials hold office for three years.

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