Bangsamoro declares historic parliamentary election results
The Commission on Elections said 2,018,478 voters cast ballots in Monday’s election, representing an 84.34% turnout, according to the Bangsamoro government.
The 80-member parliament will include 40 regional parliamentary party representatives, 32 district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.
BFP and UBJP lead results
The Bangsamoro Federalist Party secured 16 of the 40 regional parliamentary party seats, followed by the United Bangsamoro Justice Party with 15. The BARMM Grand Coalition won eight seats and the Raayat Democratic Party secured one.
In the district races, the BFP won 15 seats, UBJP nine and Serbisyong Inklusibo Alyansang Progresibo six. The Progresibong Bangsamoro Party and Al Ittihad-UKB each won one seat.
Sectoral representatives include Yul Adelfo Olaya and Mary Ann Arnado for settler communities, while Aida Silongan, Sulffy Abbas, Muhammad Nadzir Ebil and Marjanie Mimbantas-Macasalong won seats representing women, youth, ulama and traditional leaders.
Jo Glenna Jover and Leticio Datuwata were selected to represent the Teduray and Lambangian Indigenous communities.
Parliament to choose chief minister
The BFP is led by Bangsamoro interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, while the UBJP is headed by former interim Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim, who also leads the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The newly elected officials are scheduled to assume office on Oct. 30. Parliament will then elect the region’s chief minister, who will head the executive branch.
Vote follows historic peace deal
The election is the latest step in a peace process that began with the 2014 agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the south.
Under the agreement, the group abandoned its demand for an independent Muslim state in exchange for expanded autonomy. About 40,000 fighters committed to demobilization and a transition to civilian life.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao encompasses five provinces, three cities and 63 municipalities, with nearly 2.4 million registered voters.
Violence and irregularities reported
The election was largely peaceful, officials said, although several incidents were reported.
A person was killed following a disturbance at a polling station in Cotabato, while supporters of one political party reportedly damaged two vehicles belonging to a rival politician.
Three people were killed and 15 wounded in a shooting in Cotabato late Sunday, a day before voting began.
In Maluso on Basilan Island, the Commission on Elections took control after pre-shaded ballots were discovered in 36 of 68 precincts. Officials ordered ballots to be reprinted and voting to be delayed, while promising accountability for those responsible.
About 98.1% of polling stations were open early Monday, according to election officials. More than 20,000 soldiers and police officers were deployed across the region to provide security.
From conflict to autonomy
The parliamentary election follows decades of armed conflict in the southern Philippines that claimed an estimated 150,000 civilian and combatant lives since the 1970s and contributed to prolonged economic underdevelopment.
The region has also faced threats from armed groups linked to al-Qaida and Daesh. In 2017, militants linked to Daesh seized parts of Marawi, triggering a five-month battle that killed more than 1,100 people and devastated large parts of the city.
The new parliament now faces the task of translating the region’s expanded autonomy into functioning institutions and governance, following a decades-long struggle over identity, political representation and self-determination.
Source:DailySabah
