WE, THE Katungod Bangsamoro, stand with all the peoples of the Bangsamoro following the first historic Parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), held on Monday, September 14, 2026.
For the first time, Bangsamoro voters directly elected their representatives to the Bangsamoro Parliament, marking the shift from the appointed Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to an elected parliamentary government. Despite four postponements, this election represents a significant step in the Bangsamoro people’s long struggle for self-determination and political representation and is vital to sustaining positive peace in the region.
The conduct of this long-overdue election, after seven years of extended transition, is itself a democratic achievement. But the historic character of the election should not prevent a rigorous examination of the conditions under which Bangsamoro voters exercised their right to suffrage.
Based on observations gathered by our mission through engagements with various stakeholders, including regional parliamentary political parties (RPPP) and civil society organizations; visits to 11 polling centers in Cotabato City, Maguindanao del Norte, and Maguindanao del Sur; and other reports received by the mission, we identified several issues that require attention and action.
Electoral Preparedness and Accessibility
While the historic nature of the September 14, 2026 elections cannot be disputed, electoral preparedness remains a concern.
The opening of polls in several precincts was delayed because equipment and election paraphernalia arrived late at polling centers. This deterred some senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) from voting early. At the Cotabato City Central Pilot School, senior citizens complained that their precincts were located on the second floor, creating difficulties for voters with mobility problems.
Defective vote-counting machines (VCMs) were also reported in at least four voting centers in Upi, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Odin Sinsuat, and Shariff Aguak, although COMELEC technical personnel were reportedly on hand to address the problems.
These concerns may appear operational, but accessibility and preparedness are not merely technical matters. For voters already facing physical, economic, or geographic barriers, every delay or obstacle can become a reason not to vote.
Security Presence and the Climate of Fear
Immediately noticeable was the heavy and active presence of military, police, and other security personnel, together with military equipment. While their presence was explained as necessary to ensure peaceful elections, there are legitimate concerns that such a display of force may have contributed to a climate of fear and discouraged voters from going to polling centers.
It is equally concerning that the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (BIAF-MILF) were demonized and portrayed as being in Cotabato City to commit or instigate violence and secure votes for a particular party.
Our mission also verified the use of Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel to augment the membership of Electoral Boards (EBs). While this addressed critical staffing shortages caused by teacher withdrawals, the psychological impact of having armed police officers inside polling centers must also be considered.
Given the BARMM’s complex history of militarization, election authorities must assess whether the presence of security forces in and around polling precincts, however well-intentioned, undermines voters’ sense of safety and their genuine freedom of political choice.
Violence, Intimidation and Disenfranchisement
We saw and experienced the reality of glaring violence in several incidents encountered at the Cotabato City Pilot Elementary School, Sultan Mandayan Elementary School in Matanog, Tapayan Central Elementary School in Sultan Mastura, and Nabundas Central Elementary School in Shariff Saydona Mustapha.
But beneath these visible incidents lies an even more fundamental concern: the systematic disenfranchisement of voters and the denial of their ability to exercise their right to vote freely.
This took different forms, including disruptions in the operation of voting centers, allegations of pre-shading, misinformation, particularly through social media, and the use of intimidation and force. In areas directly monitored by our observers, voting was disrupted by gunfire, armed partisan confrontations, physical violence, intimidation, mob action, and the evacuation of voters and election personnel.
At Nabundas Central Elementary School in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, voting stopped and voters left at approximately 11:00 a.m. because of a nearby armed confrontation that continued until the middle of the afternoon.
These incidents cannot simply be dismissed as minor election-day disturbances. When a voter runs from a polling place because of gunfire, the right to vote has been effectively impaired.
When election workers must evacuate for their safety, the electoral process itself has been disrupted.
For these reasons, Katungod Bangsamoro cannot accept an unqualified description of the elections as “generally peaceful” if such a characterization risk trivializing the deaths, injuries, fear, and trauma experienced during the electoral process.
Protecting the Integrity of the Vote
Being able to cast a ballot is not the only test of a free election. Equally important, and perhaps even more important, is whether the voter’s choice is properly recorded, counted, and respected.
We noted that a power outage in Matanog prevented voters from directly verifying whether their ballots were accurately counted. In several precincts at a polling center in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, our observers saw members of the Electoral Board directly feeding ballots into VCMs without the voters being present. The explanation given was that the machines were slow and that the voters had already left.
The performance of the VCMs in the BARMM elections should therefore be assessed not merely based on their reported accuracy, but also on their reliability and efficiency throughout the voting and counting process. This requires publicly verifiable audit logs, voter-verifiable paper records, random manual audits, and a transparent comparison of electronic and physical results.
A high accuracy rating alone is not enough. Every ballot represents the will of a citizen. The burden is therefore on COMELEC to demonstrate that the results are not only technically accurate but also transparent, verifiable, and worthy of public trust.
We also noted instances in which local government officials reportedly prevented voters identified with rival political parties from entering voting precincts, resulting in disenfranchisement. In some cases, voters were forced to take drastic measures or physically force their way into polling places simply to exercise their right to vote.
Women and Gendered Realities
We acknowledge the significant number of women voters present in many of the voting centers we visited, as well as the number of women candidates at the district and sectoral levels. The RPPP also complied with the requirement that women comprise at least 30 percent of their nominees.
Nevertheless, the conduct of the elections revealed gendered realities that require further examination.
At the Cotabato City Pilot Elementary School, we observed an overwhelming number of young men, some of them masked, already lined up even before the polling centers were supposed to open to accommodate elderly and PWD voters. There were very few women voters in the area.
Likewise, in a polling center in Shariff Aguak in the middle of the afternoon, we observed an almost entirely male crowd. We were told that the women had voted earlier in the day.
These observations do not by themselves establish a pattern, but they raise questions about how gender, security, mobility, social expectations, and political participation intersect in the Bangsamoro electoral environment. These deserve closer examination.
The Youth and the Future of the Bangsamoro
The youth of the Bangsamoro are deeply invested in the first Parliamentary elections. Many are first-time voters, eager to exercise their political rights and conscious that the political choices made today will shape their future. Many also volunteered to help ensure the conduct of honest, open, peaceful, and credible elections.
It is therefore particularly ironic that election-related violence occurred in schools—institutions that are supposed to be zones of peace—and eroded the confidence of young Bangsamoro that they could freely and safely participate in shaping their society.
Their enthusiasm should not be taken for granted. It is an investment in the future of the Bangsamoro democratic project, and it must be protected.
Indigenous Peoples
Our mission was not able to include in its monitoring the selection process for Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) representatives. However, in our interactions with civil society organizations, specific concerns regarding the process were raised. These will be examined and addressed in our main report.
Political Dynasties and Electoral Reform
While the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC) contains provisions intended to operationalize and advance the constitutional prohibition against political dynasties, its implementation remains a serious challenge.
The deeply entrenched influence of powerful dynastic clans was observed throughout the elections—from the selection of nominees and candidates to the actual exercise of influence over whether voters should vote and, in some instances, for whom they should vote.
This is one of the difficult contradictions confronting the Bangsamoro democratic project. Electoral institutions may be newly established, but political power does not begin anew with every election. Old networks, families, institutions, money, and influence can survive—and sometimes simply adapt—to new democratic structures.
Other electoral reforms under the BEC likewise require stronger implementation, including the strict enforcement of rules governing the size and placement of campaign tarpaulins, posters, and other campaign materials. We observed numerous oversized tarpaulins and campaign materials prominently displayed in areas where such materials were prohibited, including across and around voting centers.
Rules matter only when they are enforced fairly and consistently.
The Bangsamoro Democratic and Right to Self-Determination Project
The democratic project of and in the Bangsamoro and the assertion of the right to self-determination remain unfinished.
It will not succeed if forces outside the Bangsamoro, particularly those of the National Government, are determined to impose their will and interests upon the region and its people. The Bangsamoro’s political transition must ultimately be measured by whether it expands the political space of its people—not whether it merely reproduces old patterns of centralized power under a new institutional arrangement.
The real test begins beyond the VCM.
It begins with whether the elected Parliament can transform electoral legitimacy into inclusive and accountable governance and give concrete meaning to the Bangsamoro people’s continuing pursuit of their right to self-determination.
Beyond Election Day: The Promise of a Just Peace
The peace process was never a promise that conflict would disappear overnight. Its deeper purpose was to transform the conflict: to create legitimate institutional channels through which political grievances could be addressed; to enable communities to claim representation without taking up arms; to address the root causes of armed conflict and to usher better lives for the peoples of the Bangsamoro; and, to make it possible for political power to change hands without bloodshed.
The real measure of success, therefore, will extend far beyond Election Day.
It will depend on whether the elected Parliament can deliver just peace, democracy, accountable governance, inclusive economic development, and better lives for ordinary peoples in the Bangsamoro.
Ultimately, empowerment means building a political system in which the peoples of the Bangsamoro—not guns, money, political clans, or powerful interests—determine the future of the region.
The rest of the country has much to learn from the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections. It is the privilege of Katungod Bangsamoro to have been part of this historic moment, to witness it, and to have supported the Bangsamoro people in their continuing journey toward genuine self-determination, peace, and democracy.
For References:
Atty. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate
Co-convener
09177174014
Dr. Maragtas Sofronio V. Amante
Co- convener
09669304890
Ms. Amirah Ali Lidasan
Co-convener
09176633718
