Philippines Muslim Region Holds Historic First Parliament Election Amid Violence
Voters in the autonomous Muslim region of the Philippines began voting for their first parliament on Monday, amid deadly shooting violence that left three dead near polling stations.
Voters across the autonomous Muslim region of the Philippines began casting ballots on Monday morning for its first elected parliament, hours after deadly shooting violence left at least three people dead outside a polling station. Six years after the bloody battle for the city of Marawi, dubbed the "Mosul of Southeast Asia," between the Philippine military and Islamic State-linked militants, the transition to democratic governance in the autonomous Muslim provinces of the Philippines has reached a historic milestone.
The elections mark the culmination of a decades-long peace process that began in the late 1990s, leading to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the far south of the country. More than two million eligible voters are casting ballots for 80 parliamentary seats, contested by 13 political parties.
Security Measures and Tensions
In Marawi, a city long associated with bloody clashes between government forces and jihadists, AFP journalists observed long queues of voters waiting quietly outside polling stations under the watchful eyes of tanks and security personnel. "We are excited, we got here early in the morning," said 18-year-old voter Mohammad Aktar Makabinda. Given the region's long history of political violence and blood feuds between powerful clans, holding peaceful elections remains a critical test, party leaders told AFP last week.
However, the fragile peace showed cracks in the early hours of Monday. Three people were killed and 15 others were wounded when gunfire erupted outside a school serving as a polling station in the regional capital of Cotabato, just hours before polls opened.
"It started as a struggle for a place in line between two groups, which led to shoving, escalated into a fistfight, and ultimately gunfire erupted in a crowded area," said Cotabato police chief Jibin Bongcayao.
Regional Transition and Ongoing Risks
Security has been heavily reinforced across the region in recent days, with more than 20,000 security personnel deployed to polling sites and rapid response teams placed on high alert to handle potential outbreaks of violence. Last month, a convoy carrying the region's interim chief minister—appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos—was targeted in a shooting attack. In a separate incident, a man died in hospital early Monday following an explosion near another polling station, with police investigating the cause.
