The Commission on Elections reported that 19 people have been killed while 19 others were reported injured during the entire period of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
“There are 29 incidents resulting in 19 deaths and we have 113 others which not necessarily resulted in deaths but are incidents which are still being validated,” Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told ABS-CBN News.
“For the confirmed injuries related to the elections, there are 19,” he added.
The COMELEC said that the number of election-related violence is still concerning.
“We really have to improve this situation. We have to…normalize elections to the people so that it must not result in any form of violence,” he said.
Despite localized violence, COMELEC said that the BSKE polls remain generally peaceful.
“The elections are generally peaceful, although there were some incidents of violence, especially in the Bangsamoro region,” Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said in a briefing.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting also agreed with the observation of the poll body.
“It seems that our Barangay and SK candidates are behaving well. There are just a few reported incidents where some are attempting to campaign by distributing sample ballots,” PPCRV national coordinator Arwin Serrano said.
