THE Commission on Elections said Wednesday it will be conducting special elections for 52 polling precincts with more than 17,657 voters on May 14.
Citing verified reports that no elections were held in various municipalities spread across nine provinces, the Comelec said the special elections would be conducted due to problems like no printed ballots, misdelivered official ballots, lack of official ballots and security concerns.
In one precinct of 436 voters, the absence of official ballots affected in Barangay Gabi in Cordova, Cebu, after the voters failed to cast their votes.
In one barangay in Maitum, Sarangani and Sta. Cruz, Marinduque, 1,298 voters were affected after their official ballots were swapped.
In two barangays in Antique province, 849 voters were not able to vote because of the lack of official ballots.
Security concerns topped the list of reasons why the elections were postponed especially in the critical areas.
In Northern Samar, 169 people were not able to vote in one clustered precinct after a shooting incident resulting in the death of a soldier.
In nearby Western Samar, the vote-counting machines in one clustered precinct were burned by three men on Monday afternoon, affecting 285 voters.
The failures in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were more widespread.
All the voters in 26 barangays in Binadayan, Lanao del Sur, failed to vote after the Election Officer fled and three out of six voters were asked to be transferred by contending parties without authorization from the Comelec.
Election inspectors in the area were reportedly harassed, hence affecting 7,845 voters.
In 16 municipalities in Sulu, the election inspectors failed to report on election day, hence affecting 5728 voters.
In nearby Lanao del Sur, the 1,047 voters in three barangays were not able to vote after unidentified men burned a polling center.
