Voters across the Philippines’ autonomous Muslim region began casting ballots for its first elected parliament on Monday morning, hours after gun violence left at least three people dead outside a polling station.
Gunfire erupted outside a polling station at a school in Cotabato before polls opened, killing three people and wounding 15 others. Police chief Jibin Bongcayao said the shooting took place just before midnight as members of rival factions jostled for the right to cast their votes first.
“It started as a struggle for position in the queue between two groups,” Bongcayao said. “Eventually gunfire broke out in a crowded area.”
Bongcayao said the men belonged to parties that emerged from a split in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the group that spent decades battling Manila for regional autonomy in the predominantly Catholic country. At least 14,000 men pledged to the group remain under arms.
At another polling station, four people, including a police officer, sustained gunshot wounds just before 7am, authorities said. Another man initially believed to have died in hospital was actually wounded when an improvised explosive device he was carrying exploded, authorities said.
The country’s national election commission, COMELEC, said on Monday (14th September) morning that it would take direct control of Cotabato for the duration of the election.
The polls are the culmination of an on and off peace process that began in the late 1990s and established the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the country’s far south. BARMM was formally established in 2019 following a comprehensive peace agreement that aimed to grant greater autonomy to the predominantly Muslim areas of the southern Philippines after decades of conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives. Monday’s vote marks a key milestone in that process, as more than two million voters are eligible to choose among 13 parties contesting 80 parliament seats. Election officials have predicted a high turnout.
Marawi, the regional city long identified with a bloody showdown between government forces and jihadists, remains a potent symbol of past violence. In 2017, the city endured a five-month siege by Islamist militants linked to the Islamic State group, leaving large parts of the urban centre in ruins and displacing hundreds of thousands of residents. Reconstruction efforts have continued in the years since, yet the presence of armoured vehicles at polling stations on Monday underscored ongoing security concerns.
In Marawi, AFP journalists saw long lines of voters peacefully queued outside polling stations, with armoured vehicles and security personnel standing watch. “We’re excited. We came here early in the morning,” Mohammad Actar Macabada, 18, told AFP after casting his vote. “I’m nervous because there might be chaos. Before, there was chaos. Now it’s peaceful,” he added. “I’m excited for the results.”
In the regional capital, Cotabato, 22-year-old engineering student Mark Martirez said he hoped that incoming leaders would not “waste the people’s votes.” “I see the (BARMM’s) rapid growth infrastructure-wise … But I’m still not satisfied with what I see regarding security,” he said.
Given the region’s long history of political violence and blood feuds between powerful families known as “rido”, a peaceful election would be considered a success, party leaders told AFP last week.
Security has been stepped up across the BARMM in recent days, with more than 20,000 security personnel fanning out in voting areas and quick response teams assembled to address potential violence. COMELEC chief George Garcia said he was certain there would be “no failure of the election” despite the incidents of violence. “This is not like a walk in the park,” he said. “It’s full of challenges.” “What is important is to show our determination to end this day in peace while being able to vote.”
Political analysts note that the BARMM parliament will have significant powers over local legislation, budgeting, and development priorities. The 80 seats include representation for political parties, geographic districts, and sectoral groups. Once elected, the parliament will choose the region’s chief minister, who heads the executive branch.
Despite the overnight violence in Cotabato, voting in many areas, including Marawi, proceeded calmly under heavy security. Officials have emphasised that a high turnout and the orderly conduct of the ballot would strengthen the institutions created under the peace deal and help move the region further from its history of armed rebellion and clan-based feuds.
Polls are set to close at 7pm. Results are expected in the coming days as counting proceeds across the autonomous region.
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