Provisions of Article V or political parties under BTA Bill No. 29, or the proposed Bangsamoro Electoral Code were the focus of the discussion today of the Bangsamoro Parliament’s Rules Committee.
Article V of the BEC specifies the following sections: the requirement of a political party, the composition of political parties, the election and nomination of members of the various bodies, registration as a political party, the nomination of candidates, and party conventions.
Political parties are crucial to the functioning of a parliamentary democracy, as outlined in the proposed code.
With the qualifications set by the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, according to the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), any organized group in the Bangsamoro region can register as a political party with the Bangsamoro Electoral Office.
In 2025, the Bangsamoro Parliament will consist of 80 members: 50% from political parties, 40% from electoral districts, and 10% from reserved seats and sectors.
As stated in the BOL, the Bangsamoro government shall adopt an electoral system that is consistent with national election laws, allows democratic participation, encourages the formation of genuinely principled political parties, and ensures accountability.
The BEC is one of the priority codes of the BTA that will secure that the election of officers in the Bangsamoro region is honest, credible, just, and free.
Floor Leader and COR Chair Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba presided over the deliberation of the proposed code on Monday, February 6.(LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)