Police assist in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite at the Cotabato City Pilot School, January 21, 2019. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — Sixteen local political parties and around 1,500 sectoral groups are planning to participate in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections next year, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday.

• Marcos warns vs attempts to disrupt Bangsamoro polls in 2025

Fourteen Regional Parliamentary Political Parties and around 1,500 sectoral organizations have lodged their applications for accreditation before the Comelec, said commission Chairman George Erwin Garcia.

"To be registered for purposes of the parliamentary elections," Garcia said.

The 16 regional parties are:

• United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP)

•  BARMM Grand Coalition (BGC)

•  Al-Ittihad-Ungaya Sa Kawagib Nu Bangsamoro (Al-Ittigad-UKB)

•  Mahardlika Party

•  Bangsamoro Party (BAPA)

•  Amanat Democratic Party (ADP)

•  Bangsamoro People's Party (BPP)

•  Progresibong Bangsamoro Party (Pro Bangsamoro)

•  Bangsamoro Federal Party 

•  Bangsamoro People's Democratic Party (Raayat Democratic Party)

•  Partido Bangon Bangsamoro (PBBM)

•  Indigenous, Settler, Sama and Minorities Alliance Party (ISAMA)

I•  ndigenous People's Democratic Party (IPDP)

•  Serbisyong Inklusibo Alyansang Progresibo (SIAP)

•  Moro Ako

•  United Advocates for Settler Communities 

"We will still screen and determine if they  should be accredited," Garcia stressed.

The Bangsamoro elections will coincide with the midterm national and midterm elections scheduled on May 12, 2025.

• Peace adviser: BSKE a ‘litmus test' for functioning democracy in Bangsamoro

At stake in the BARMM elections are 32 BARMM Parliament Member seats and 40 BARMM Party-list Representative seats.

What makes the BARMM elections unique from the 2025 NLE, is the provision in Bangsamoro Electoral Code that bars candidates from changing their political party six months after the elections.

Those who will opt to change their party affiliation will automatically lose their position.

RELATED VIDEO