Bangsamoro holds first parliamentary election amid violence and ballot delays

Nearly 2.4 million voters in the Muslim-majority Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are voting in the region’s first parliamentary election, a key step towards broader autonomy after decades of conflict.

The 80-seat parliament will include political party, district and sectoral representatives. It will also elect the region’s chief minister at its first session, determining the leadership of the executive branch.

The vote was disrupted by violence and administrative problems. Commission on Elections chairman George Garcia said three people were killed and 15 injured in a shooting in Cotabato City, which was placed under the commission’s control. An improvised explosive device also injured its carrier, while a separate gunfire incident caused no injuries.

In Maluso, Basilan, pre-shaded ballots were found in 36 of 68 precincts. Garcia ordered ballots for the affected precincts to be reprinted, delaying voting there. The identities and motives of those involved in the incidents were not provided.

The election formally ends the transition period under the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, an interim government appointed in 2019. The region was established through a peace process involving the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose former rebels agreed to demobilise and abandon their goal of a separate Muslim state.

The vote follows a conflict in which about 150,000 people have reportedly died since the 1970s, although violence in the area has declined from earlier levels. Election officials are targeting turnout of at least 80 per cent, but no turnout or result figures were available.