UBJP open to special elections to fill 7 BARMM parliament seats

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

MANILA, Philippines — The United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), one of the seven participating political parties in the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary elections, is open to the idea of conducting special elections to fill the seven uncontested parliament seats.

This was shared by Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, chairperson of the UBJP and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), as the party met with Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia on Thursday to discuss the upcoming elections.

Ebrahim is also one of the nominees of the UBJP, which is a political party of the MILF. The former chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said that Garcia assured them that the elections will push through on October 13.

READ: Comelec: Only 73 parliament seats to be contested in BARMM polls

“We are very happy that the chairman officially assured us that the elections in October will push through in October so this is an election for the members of parliament in BARMM,” Ebrahim, speaking in mixed English and Filipino, told reporters in an interview.

The Comelec earlier said that the poll body will proceed with the conduct of the parliamentary elections for 73 parliament seats, where the seven district representative seats previously dedicated to Sulu will be considered vacant. This came after the poll body noted the absence of legislation reallocating the seats to other provinces.

The Supreme Court previously ruled that Sulu is now excluded from the region after the province voted against the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

When asked if the legislation on the reallocation of seven seats will be released anytime, Ebrahim said: “We will try our best to comply but then… if the seven seats will not be completed, there might be special elections.”

“We are okay with special elections,” he answered when asked if the party is open to holding such elections.

READ: BARMM bodies okay bill redistributing parliament seats meant for Sulu

In an earlier statement, the poll body stated that vacant seats “may be subsequently filled through presidential appointment or as may later be determined by a ruling of the Supreme Court or future legislation from the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) or the Philippine Congress.”

Meanwhile, UBJP Vice Chairperson and Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal said that the challenges faced by the region, particularly in terms of security, are “tolerable.”

“During the last May elections, the situation was the same. There are many challenges but those challenges are not strong enough to say that this can’t be,” Iqbal said in the same interview.

Iqbal also said that the violent incidents are “isolated cases.” /mr