Voters in the Muslim-majority Bangsamoro autonomous region in the southern Philippines went to the polls on Monday for the first parliamentary elections since the territory gained greater powers of self-rule.
Voting began at 7 a.m. local time (2300 GMT on Sunday) and was scheduled to continue until 7 p.m. (1100 GMT), the state-run Philippine News Agency reported.
About 700 candidates from 13 regional political parties are contesting 80 seats in the Bangsamoro parliament, the territory’s top legislative institution. Preliminary results are expected later on Monday evening.
Nearly 2.4 million voters are eligible to participate in an election widely viewed as a key milestone in efforts to strengthen self-governance and secure lasting peace after decades of conflict.
The 80-member parliament will comprise 40 party representatives, 32 district representatives and eight sectoral representatives. Votes will be counted using automated machines that were also used in the Philippines’ May 2025 midterm elections.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, known as BARMM, has a population of about 5 million, most of them Muslims. It encompasses five provinces, three cities and 63 villages spread across eight special geographic area clusters.
In a January 2019 referendum, residents approved the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which provided the legal framework for creating the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to administer the region.
The law followed decades of armed struggle by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, led by Murad Ebrahim, and was intended to lay the foundation for greater autonomy and an end to the conflict.
The parliamentary vote was originally scheduled for 2022 but was postponed four times before finally taking place on Monday.
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