Bangsamoro Votes for Historic Parliament amid Deadly Violence

Photo via LiCAS.news

Voting began on Sept. 14 in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for its first parliamentary elections since the region was established in 2019. The historic elections are considered an important step toward self-governance in the Muslim-majority region, where more than 2.3 million people are eligible to cast their votes.

The elections will determine the members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, the legislative body responsible for shaping the region’s government. A total of 80 seats are being contested, including 40 representatives from political parties, 32 district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives. The region’s chief minister will also be chosen by the newly elected parliament during its first session.

Election officials were aiming for at least 80 percent voter turnout, particularly after the parliamentary elections were postponed for several years. 

Voters in the region expressed hopes that the elections would help establish leaders capable of promoting lasting peace and stability after decades of armed conflict and political unrest.

Despite the historic nature of the polls, the elections were affected by deadly violence. In Cotabato City, a shooting near a school being used as a polling station late on September 13 killed three people and injured 15 others. Following the incident, Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia placed the city under the commission’s control.

Another shooting occurred at a separate polling station shortly before 7 a.m. on election day, leaving four people, including a police officer, wounded. 

Authorities also reported a separate incident involving an improvised explosive device in the city. The explosion injured the person carrying the device, while a gun was fired during the incident, although no additional injuries were reported.

Election-related concerns were also reported in Basilan. The town of Maluso was placed under the Commission on Elections’ control after pre-shaded ballots were discovered in 36 of 68 precincts. Chair. Garcia ordered the immediate reprinting of ballots in the affected areas, although voting was expected to be delayed in those precincts.

The election marks the conclusion of the transition period under the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (B.T.A.), the interim regional government appointed in 2019. The BARMM was created under a 2014 peace agreement, through which former Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels agreed to demobilize and abandon their pursuit of an independent Muslim state in exchange for broader regional autonomy.

The parliamentary elections represent a significant moment for a region that has experienced decades of conflict and violence. Since the 1970s, approximately 150,000 people have died in the conflict, while the area was once considered a stronghold of hardline armed groups. 

Although violence has declined in recent years, the election-day incidents demonstrate the continuing challenges facing the region as it moves toward greater political self-governance and lasting peace.