The Commission on Elections (Comelecc) suspended the proclamation of 92 winning candidates for the barangay and Sangguniaang Kabaataan elections (BSKE) on Thursday due to pending disqualification petitions.
Days before the Oct. 30 elections, the Comelec announced that 256 candidates have pending disqualification cases against them.
Cases leveled against them included premature campaigning, vote buying, illegal campaigning, and violation of the anti-political dynasty prohibition. Other candidates were found to have been perpetually barred from holding public office.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said that canvassing of votes nationwide is 100 percent complete, with no reports of a failure of election.
Of the 256 candidates facing a stop-proclamation order, 92 won and 106 lost, while the rest were still under validation.
Meanwhile, the poll body said there was no failure of elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) during the 2023 BSKE.
Despite reports of violence, the Comelec said the recently concluded BSKE were generally peaceful, honest, orderly, and credible.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Thursday the number of violent incidents suspected to be connected with the elections climbed to 264.
PNP spokesperson, Police Col. Jean Fajardo said only 47 of these incidents have been confirmed to be related to the elections, 114 were still being validated, and 103 were found to be unrelated.
Fajardo added that the confirmed poll-related incidents resulted in the death of 15 people and the injury of 43 others.
Most of the confirmed election-related incidents were reported in the BARMM with 16 cases, followed by Northern Mindanao with 13, and Cordillera with four cases.
Three cases were reported each in Ilocos and Eastern Visayas; two each in Bicol and Central Visayas; and one each in Metro Manila, Region IV-A (Calabarzon), and Zamboanga.
There were 19 incidents of shooting.
Armed confrontations and encounters, indiscriminate firing, incidents of fire, robbery, and grave threat were also reported, the PNP said.
The PNP said 2,077 people were arrested and 1,569 firearms were confiscated as it enforced an election-period gun ban.
On Election Day, two people were killed and at least four others were wounded in a shooting in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, shortly before voting was to start.
BAR regional police chief Police Brig. Gen. Allan Cruz Nobleza said there was another shooting incident in Maguindanao del Sur.
A candidate for barangay chairperson was also shot in Butig, Lanao del Sur; while six people including a candidate for barangay chairman were wounded in Tuburan, Basilan.
Fajardo said the PNP will continue to provide security on the ground until candidates are proclaimed winners.
