Comelec to announce majority, minority parties this week

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) will announce the names of the dominant majority and minority parties for the May 13 elections this week, according to Comelec Spokesperson James B. Jimenez. “It’s still ongoing…it should be this week (we expect the results)… We hope it would be this week,” he told BusinessWorld in an interview on Tuesday. The list will also include the top 10 major political parties for the midterm elections. The deadline for accreditation of political parties was last April 10, based on Comelec Resolution No. 10514 or the rules and regulations on the filing of political parties for the determination of one dominant minority party and one dominant majority party. The accreditation will be determined through weighted average points on given criteria in the resolution such as the established record of the parties, coalition or groups that now comprise them, and the number of incumbent elective officials belonging to them 90 days before elections, among others. “It’s a mathematical process where you determine how many candidates are running under what political party; what sort of percentage do they represent as a whole; and from there you determine who are majority and minority,” Mr. Jimenez said. — Gillian M. Cortez