UBC AMS Representative Marjan Hatai has withdrawn from the VP External race in this year’s AMS Elections.
Hatai, who is a fourth-year political science student, withdrew her candidature on February 25. She is still running for a spot in the UBC Senate.
“Given the time commitment and the responsibilities that come with being a student senator, I decided that it would be best for the society for me to focus my efforts in one place, and that my work would be of most benefit as a student senator than in the VP External Race,” said Hatai.
With Hatai out of the race, the two remaining candidates are Associate VP External Jude Crasta and Student Legal Fund Society President Janzen Lee.
Hatai’s announcement comes after the withdrawal of many other candidates from the AMS Elections this week: Harsev Oshan and Rohan Nuttal have withdrawn from the Board of Governors Race, while Tanner Bokor has withdrawn from the Presidential Race.
These withdrawals follow the campaign blackout period, where candidates were forbidden from campaigning for a week after the announcement of the candidates.
Hatai joined the AMS in her third year, working on finance commission and later as a referendum coordinator. She learned a lot about the AMS in these positions, and later became a representative for the faculty of Arts. She cites having all of her referendum questions passed last year as one of her greatest accomplishments at the AMS.
“It was an incredible feeling being in the gallery and hearing that they all passed -- especially the Whistler Lodge question,” says Hatai.
Now that she is out of the VP External race, Hatai intends to focus her attention on campaigning for a Senate position. If elected, she promises to work to develop co-curricular transcripts and a first semester reading break.
“I’m really excited to run forward with it,” said Hatai.
The other Senate candidates are Aaron Bailey, Anne Kessler, Eric Zhao, Gurvir Sangha, Hannah Xiao, Ian Sapollnik, Jenna Omassi, Margareta Dovgal, Niloufar Keshmiri and Viet Vu. Of these candidates, five will be elected .
The voting period for the AMS Elections begins March 9th and ends March 13th.