Voting starts in Philippines' south after three killed in election violence

The Commission on Elections placed Cotabato City under ​its control after the violence on Sunday, when an argument at a polling station erupted in ⁠gunfire,.

Election Commission Chairperson George Erwin Garcia condemned the act of violence, but said elections for party-list representatives, district ​representatives, and sectoral seats across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have been generally peaceful so far despite logistical challenges, including ​reprinting ballots to replace pre-shaded ones that had been intercepted.

Voting precincts close at 7 p.m. (1100 GMT), but Garcia said some may stay open until 9 p.m. due to delayed opening.

Nearly 2.4 million voters are registered for the vote, which international partners and peace monitors view as a key test of whether ​the regional autonomy granted under a 2014 peace deal between Manila and Muslim separatists can be sustained through elected institutions.

The grant ​of autonomy was intended to halt a conflict that killed more than 120,000 people, displaced about 2 million, and helped extremist groups gain a foothold ‌in ⁠the region.

"The election marks a milestone in the continuing journey of BARMM towards lasting peace, democratic governance and meaningful self-determination," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a video message urging voters to take part in what he also described as a "defining moment" for the region and the country.

The election completes a transition set in motion by the agreement between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the ​country's largest Muslim separatist group, and ​a subsequent law that granted ⁠greater political and economic powers to the Muslim-majority south.

Theautonomous region, opens new tab spans parts of Mindanao, the Philippines' second-largest island, and a chain of dozens of small islands to the west once associated with piracy ​and banditry. BARMM is the country's only region governed under a parliamentary system.

Among those competing for ​power in the ⁠election are parties led by former MILF rebels, rival factions that emerged from the movement after the peace deal, and traditional political clans.

Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, chairman of the MILF and also a candidate for parliament, said the election fulfilled a long-held aspiration of the Bangsamoro ⁠people to ​choose their own leaders through the ballot box.

"Our people have long aspired to ​have elections, where the people themselves can choose their leaders," Murad, who served as the region's interim chief minister until 2025, said after voting.