Comelec mulls holding Marawi barangay, SK polls

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is studying the possibility of conducting barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Marawi.

“There are reasons why we did not push through with the elections in Marawi. And if all those reasons are now gone, we will schedule the elections,” Comelec Commissioner Luie Guia told a press briefing on Tuesday night.

“We are working on a three-month timeline. We will continue to assess the situation in Marawi,” Guia said.

 Acting Comelec chairman Al Parreño said they would adopt the procedure used in the evaluation of the situation in the rest of Mindanao, where elections were held even though it is under martial law.

The Comelec did not approve the holding of elections in Marawi, which is still being rehabilitated after months of fighting between government troopers and Maute militants.

‘More peaceful’

Guia said the barangay and SK elections on Monday were “more peaceful” compared to previous polls.

He said at least 99.81 percent of the winning candidates have been proclaimed.

Guia warned that the proclamation of those who violated election rules would be cancelled.

The Comelec nullified the certificates of candidacy of several winning SK candidates for allegedly being over-aged and not a voter in the area where they ran.