MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the constitutional body that oversees Philippine elections, made a stunning announcement today.  It ruled that whoever wins in the May 9 elections will not be the duly-elected president of the Philippines.

COMELEC Chairman Andres Bautista said that even if one of the 5 presidential candidates wins 100 percent of the votes, which is impossible, he or she will not have the true mandate of the Filipino people.

Bautista explained that only 54.4 Million Filipinos are registered to vote in this year’s elections, and that is just a little over 50 percent of the country’s total population of 102.4 Million. 

“In a very unlikely scenario that one candidate gets 48 Million votes, that would not be enough to constitute a majority of the Filipino people,” Bautista explained.

In issuing its ruling, the COMELEC urged 100 percent of all registered voters to vote for one and the same candidate so that the winner gets a true majority.

Asked by The Adobo Chronicles what the solution would be if no one gets 100 percent of the votes on May 9, Bautista said the COMELEC will not have any choice but to declare the elections null and void and schedule a repeat election.  He also urged that if this happens, a nationwide campaign for increased voter registration should immediately be undertaken.