The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Saturday that the campaign and election periods for the first Bangsamoro parliamentary polls remain in effect while awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on the Bangsamoro Act, which redistributed seven parliamentary districts originally designated to Sulu.
Comelec said its legal department recommended that the campaign and election timelines for the October 13 polls will not be suspended and all election restrictions will remain enforced despite the Court’s temporary restraining order (TRO).
Processing of requests for authority on election prohibitions will also continue, the poll body said.
Earlier, Comelec suspended preparations for the elections after the SC issued a TRO stopping the Comelec, Bangsamoro Transition Authority, and others from implementing Bangsamoro Autonomy Act 77, which amended BAA 58 to redistrict parliamentary seats following the exclusion of Sulu from BARMM.
The SC ruling stemmed from petitions filed by several leaders including Lanang Ali Jr., Samsodin Amella, Datuan Magon Jr., Abdullah Macapaar, and Sultan Alim Amate.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said only 73 of 80 seats will be contested on October 13.
The elections were reset from May 12 to October 13 after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed a law postponing the polls. The SC earlier upheld the Bangsamoro Organic Law but ruled that Sulu is not part of BARMM.
