THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is eyeing to proclaim all winning party-list groups of the 2022 elections on May 25.

Acting Comelec spokesperson Director John Rex Laudiangco said such a timeline is due to the pendency of the May 24 special elections in Lanao del Sur and the yet-to-be-transmitted results of the 1,191 local absentee votes from Shanghai, China.

“We have to emphasize that the 685,000 votes from Lanao del Sur and the 1,191 from Shanghai can affect the computation and standing of party-list groups. And that is why the Comelec decided not to proceed with the proclamation today (Thursday, May 19) but instead, have the proclamation immediately after the May 24 special elections,” he said.

A special election has been set in Lanao del Sur due to the failure of elections amid heightened violence incidents.

Laudiangco, however, said the results would no longer affect the results hence they could proceed with the proclamation.

“But we are confident that the 1,191 won’t affect the final results, and we could proceed on May 25 for the proclamation of the winning party-list candidates, iyong complete na po,” he said.

Under the party-list law, a party-list group that gets at least 2% of the total number of votes cast in the party-list race will be entitled to at least one seat in the House of Representatives.

Those who exceed the 2% threshold will be entitled to additional seats proportionate to the number of votes cast, but each winning party-list group’s total number of seats cannot exceed three.

Those who do not meet the 2% requirement may still be able to secure a seat in the House because the party-list law also requires that 20% of House members come from the party-list ranks.

Laudiangco said 20% of the House members are 63.

The Comelec said each winning party-list group can be represented by two people at maximum, meaning they would be 126 people at maximum, to comply with minimum public health standards amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two representatives per winning party-list group allowed to attend the proclamation could be the group’s nominee or a party-list group official.

But the poll body has yet to decide on the venue for the proclamation of winning party-list representatives. By Lee Ann P. Ducusin