SOLARES Suspends Election due to Lack of Candidates; Townhall Postponed Until Further Notice

Sublimity in print.

SOLARES Suspends Election due to Lack of Candidates

Townhall Postponed Until Further Notice

News
May 19, 2026
Kristoffer Andrei Yu

photos byAbigail Barredo

The organization says that the decision was made by the executive committee and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). Part of the reason for the decision was the “low turnout of candidates resulting in key positions being unapplied for.” The organization says this has caused “circumstances that fall short for a healthy democratic election.”

COMELEC Chair Jared Muaña confirmed to HALANGDON that no candidates applied for the positions of President, Vice President, Internal Secretary, External Secretary, and Treasurer as of May 19, 2026. He also confirmed that the executive committee are internally discussing how to proceed with the succession of the organization but stopped short of providing details.

The organization’s statement continued noting their understanding of the value of democracy, adding, “we assure the students of DCLL that whatever decision us officers land on will be a comprehensive and beneficial one for the future of our department.”

The original election date of Monday, May 18, was initially pushed back to Thursday, May 21, due to the continued lack of candidates despite extensions to the filing deadline for Certificates of Candidacy. With this announcement, the elections will not take place on May 21.

The Town Hall event hosted by HALANGDON will also be postponed until further notice due to the suspension of the election. The new date for the town hall event will depend on the developments of the situation and the decision of SOLARES and its COMELEC.

This is the first time in recent years that the SOLARES Elections were suspended. The last time the election process was interrupted was in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns and suspension of classes. The department chair at the time, Ms. Joseleanor Magno, suggested that the officers from AY 2019-2020 will remain as officers for AY 2020-2021 since the planned physical election of officers could not take place.

The election process of SOLARES previously used a nomination system in the 2023 and prior elections. Since then, SOLARES has used a candidacy-filing system in the 2024 elections under then-COMELEC Chair Daniel Degoma. This system continued in 2025, under then-COMELEC Chair Kristoffer Yu, and this year, under current COMELEC Chair Jared Muaña.

The current SOLARES Constitution does not specify what system the annual election will use in determining candidates to the executive committee for the next academic year. The COMELEC Chair has the power and responsibility to create an election code and election calendar, provided that the election will fall on the first Monday after the campaign period.

See SOLARES’s Satement on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EoxzrTMdc/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristoffer Andrei Yu

Student, Truth-teller, Journalist.

19 May 2026

Societatis Lingua Artes (SOLARES) announced the “temporary suspension” of the elections due to a lack of candidates for “key positions” in the executive committee according to a statement posted on their Facebook page on Sunday. The Town Hall event hosted by HALANGDON will also be postponed until further notice due to the suspension of the election. The new date for the town hall event will depend on the developments of the situation and the decision of SOLARES and its COMELEC.

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