November 11, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Up to 109 aspirants have filed certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Aside from the candidates, eight regional parliamentary political parties filed certificates of acceptance of nomination and list of nominees.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said the number of filers could be considered high given some uncertainties surrounding the conduct of the BARMM electoral exercise.
“Considering there are only 25 seats in the parliament to be filled, the total number of aspirants is quite high,” Garcia said yesterday.
He also cited the possibility that the polls might be postponed, noting calls from some groups and lawmakers to defer the elections.
Proponents of the postponement cited a ruling of the Supreme Court excluding Sulu from the Bangsamoro region.
Earlier, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) asked Congress to extend the transition period until 2028.
Of the 109 aspirants for parliamentary district representatives, 41 are running in Lanao del Sur, 15 each in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, 14 in Basilan, 10 in Tawi-Tawi, nine in Cotabato City and five in the special geographic area in Cotabato.
The Comelec said the six-day filing of COCs was generally peaceful. It said no untoward incident happened during the COC filing.
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