Comelec: ‘No elections’ scenario is unlikely but ‘postponement of elections’ is among the options

Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the Palacio del Gobernador Bldg., Gen. Luna St. cor. Andres Soriano Jr. Ave, Intramuros, Manila (Photo by Ramon FVelasquez/Wikipedia)

MANILA – In the midst of the “disruption” in their preparations for the May 9 polls brought about by the Supreme Court (SC) decision ordering them to print voter receipts on Election Day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said that “No-El” (no elections) scenario is unlikely but “Po-El” (postponement of elections) is among the options.

Comelec Chairman Juan Andres Bautista explained that the postponement of the elections is part of their options and the no elections is not among those they are considering.

“There is no ‘No-El’ scenario. Maybe postponement of elections (Po-El),” he said after a meeting with the Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) on Monday.

“We have said it already that all options are open at this point, including the possibility of postponing our elections,” the poll body chief said.

Bautista noted that in case there will be a “Po-El,” they may only need several weeks to declare the winners and able to assume their posts by June 30 as mandated by law.

“Maybe we will need a few weeks. We are well aware that the terms of our current officials will end on June 30. This is why it is important that we can proclaim the winners before June 30 so we can have an orderly transition,” he explained.

Earlier, the poll body raised the possibilities of postponing the elections or going back to manual polls.

The two scenarios are being considered since the elections is three months away, as they need to redo their preparations.

Bautista said that either manual elections or delaying the elections will need specific laws before they can be executed.

“But there are also times when legal issues should be set aside if we want to have an orderly and credible elections,” he said.

Last week, the SC ordered the poll body to issue vote receipts to voters, which caught them off-guard thus, disrupting their preparations for the forthcoming elections including possible effects on their timelines, among others.