Marawi City, Philippines – The first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the southern Philippines has resulted in a hung parliament as no single party managed to secure a majority, according to unofficial results. With more than 99 percent of votes counted as of Tuesday evening, the two rival parties that emerged from the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front each had more than 30 percent of the vote, showed the partial count of GMA News, one of the country’s largest news networks. Neither secured the 41 seats needed for a majority in the 80-member parliament.
The front signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 2014 after decades of conflict for independence and self-governance. It served as an interim government after voters approved the autonomous region in 2019. But last year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr replaced longtime Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim with Abdulraof Macacua, a former front commander, as chief minister, in a move that worsened internal divisions in the Muslim-majority region.
Macacua, who leads the Bangsamoro Federalist Party, has acknowledged that a coalition with other parties is “an unavoidable situation” following Monday’s vote. Ebrahim told reporters after casting his ballot that he hoped his party – the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) – would clinch most of the seats, but expressed openness to negotiating with other parties. Some voters had feared a return to fighting if the UBJP failed to get a commanding lead, especially because the front has halted the disarming of former fighters, citing the government’s failure to provide aid as promised.
The commander he was referring to was 64-year-old Abdullah Macapaar – also known as Commander Bravo and notorious for being one of the most defiant front leaders. On Monday, Macapaar, who was also running to become a member of parliament, voted for the first time in his life. In a Facebook post, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, who led peace negotiations with the front on behalf of the government, commended the participating parties “for their great effort to build their capacity to enter the field of electoral politics and play by the rules of the electoral process”.
Authorities said the elections were generally peaceful, but security forces will remain on high alert in the coming days. Multiple shooting incidents on election day left at least three people dead and several wounded. We are trying to ensure that the security situation will remain stable,” said Brigadier General Jemuel Siason, deputy police director of the Bangsamoro region.
After years of negotiations, the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a peace agreement that paved the way for autonomy in the region. Voter Aracaya’s wife, Norhailyn Madayan, remembers a childhood spent fleeing conflict. There were also clan wars,” Madayan said.
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