Nearly 2.4 million voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are casting ballots on Monday in the southern Philippines’ first parliamentary election since the autonomous region was established in 2019.
The vote is intended to advance self-governance after decades of insurgency and violence, but three people were killed and 15 injured in a shooting in Cotabato City one day before polling opened.
Violence and ballot problems disrupt polling
Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia said Cotabato City was placed under the commission’s control after the shooting. He also reported that an improvised explosive device injured the person carrying it, while a separate gunfire incident caused no injuries.
Maluso town in Basilan was placed under commission control after pre-shaded ballots were found in 36 of its 68 precincts. Garcia ordered ballots for the affected precincts to be reprinted, delaying voting there, and said people who attempt violence or vote-buying would be charged.
Key figures
- 80 parliamentary seats are being contested.
- 40 seats are for political party representatives.
- 32 seats are for district representatives.
- Eight seats are for sectoral representatives.
A new phase after the transition government
The election ends the transition period under the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, an interim regional government appointed in 2019.
The autonomous region was established under a 2014 peace deal. Under that agreement, former Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels agreed to demobilise and abandon their goal of a separate Muslim state in the south of the predominantly Catholic Philippines.
The region’s chief minister, who leads its executive branch, will be elected by parliament during its first session. About 150,000 people have died in the conflict since the 1970s, while violence has declined from earlier years when the area was a haven for extremist groups. Read the context: Israel to hold first elections since October 2023 Hamas attacks on 27 October.
What happens next
Polling stations are due to close at 7pm local time, or 11:00 GMT. Election officials are targeting turnout of at least 80 percent after polling was postponed for several years.
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