Bangsamoro votes for its first elected parliament after four postponements

Voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao went to the polls on Monday for the first parliamentary election since the region was created in 2019. The ballot is meant to replace the appointed Bangsamoro Transition Authority with 80 elected members: 40 from regional parties, 32 from districts, and eight sectoral seats. Comelec Chair George Garcia said most precincts opened on time. Some areas in Basilan did not. Voting in Al-Barka was extended to 9 p.m.

The vote had been set for May 2022, then May 2025, then October 2025, then March 2026. Monday was the fifth date. Comelec opened a results site, barmmpelectionresults.comelec.gov.ph, and said unofficial tallies would start after polls closed at 7 p.m. and after the first nine copies of each election return were printed. Facebook posts already declaring a United Bangsamoro Justice Party sweep were false. No party can be certified while counting is open.

The parliament will choose the chief minister. That person will run the regional executive. Courts stay with the Supreme Court and with the Shari'ah and regular courts already inside the Philippine system. The next regular Bangsamoro election is fixed for the second Monday of May 2031, then every three years, so the regional calendar lines up with national polls.

Two of the eight sectoral seats were filled before Monday. Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples chose Jo Genna Jover of the Teduray and Leticio Datuwata of the Lambangian at a selection in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte. Garcia called that process quiet and acceptable to the six communities involved. Those two names are due to be proclaimed with the other winners, with Comelec aiming for 15 September.

Three people were killed in election-related violence in the south before voting day, according to reports carried internationally. Garcia still described opening as broadly on time. Automated counting machines were tested and sealed on 12 September. Candidates have until 14 October to file statements of contributions and expenses.

The 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the 2018 Organic Law promised an elected government. Seven years of appointed transition followed. Monday is the first time voters in the region can hire and fire the parliament that will sit in Cotabato. A delayed election is still an election if the returns are real. The test after 7 p.m. is whether the dashboard matches the paper in the precincts, and whether the party that has run the transition accepts a seat count it does not like.

UBJP, the party tied to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, went into the day as the favourite in most coverage. Favourites have been wrong in Mindanao before. The only number that matters on Monday night is the one Comelec posts after the machines close.