Comelec: Ballot printing 'right on schedule,' to start in January

MANILA -- The Commission on Elections said Friday it hoped to start printing ballots for the May 2019 elections, as scheduled, in January.

The last day for substitution of candidates will be on Nov. 29 while the Comelec law department is expected to come out with a final list of candidates on Dec. 15, Chairman Sheriff Abas.

The printing of ballots is "right on schedule," Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told ABS-CBN News.

The Comelec earlier said that postponing the filing of certificate of candidacy might delay the printing of ballots. The filing period started Thursday.

Both chambers of Congress earlier adopted resolutions urging the Comelec to push back the deadline of the COC filing by a week, to October 11 to 17, from October 1 to 5.

The creation of the Bangsamoro, one of the requirements of a 2014 peace deal between the government and Muslim rebels, is not expected to affect the Comelec's timeline for the 2019 polls, Abas said.

In the 2016 elections, the Comelec began printing about 56.77 million ballots in February for the May polls. All ballots were printed by April, a month before the presidential election.