Preparations for the upcoming barangay and SK elections are underway, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) reported Tuesday, August 1.

District 1 Election Officer Atty. Stephen Roy Cañete said the election period is from August 28 to October 29, with the election day proper set on October 30.

Filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC) will be from August 28 to September 2 at KCC Mall – East Wing for both District 1 and 2.

Atty. Cañete stressed that candidates are prohibited from any and all campaign activities immediately after filing their COCs and should only do so during the 10-day campaign period set by the COMELEC from October 19 to 28. 

Election day on October 30 will be a manual election and will run from 7 AM to 3 PM.

A gun ban will be imposed during the election period, and transfer and detailing of employees is prohibited under Civil Service Commission (CSC) regulations, Atty. Cañete explained.

The terms of the newly-elected officials will officially begin 12 noon of November 30.

The COMELEC has tallied 466,984 registered voters for the barangay elections and 146,535 registered voters for the SK elections in Zamboanga City. A list of registered voters will be posted in barangays and City Hall for public access.

As part of the preparations for the elections, the COMELEC will hold a Barangay-SK Election (BSKE) forum and exhibit on August 9 at the City Coliseum.

The COMELEC is also set to meet with the security sector to thresh out security plans for the upcoming elections. (Jasmine Mohammadsali)