On September 30, Team NIV Captain Ecka Sibug announced her withdrawal from the Third General Elections and the MNL48 group itself. The same day, MNL48 posted on their official Facebook page that HalloHallo Entertainment (HHE) has decided that for the Third General Elections, the group will become a 36-member girl group, in order to focus more on individual projects and sub-units HHE has slated for the next months. 