The incident highlights the region’s ongoing issues with political violence, particularly as the elections aim to establish BARMM’s first elected parliament following a lengthy peace process
Three people have been killed and 15 others wounded after gunfire broke out on Monday, hours before polls opened in a semi-autonomous Muslim region of the Philippines. The shooting happened shortly before midnight outside a school being used as a polling station in Cotabato, the regional capital of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Police said the violence began as rival political groups argued over who should be first in the queue to vote. Cotabato police chief Jibin Bongcayao said the dispute began as a “struggle for position in the queue between two groups”. “It led to shoving, escalated into a fistfight, and eventually gunfire broke out in a crowded area,” he said.
Rival Factions Clash
Bongcayao said those involved belonged to rival political parties that emerged from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the group that spent decades fighting for greater autonomy for the predominantly Catholic country’s Muslim-majority south.
The election is the culmination of a peace process that began in the late 1990s. It is intended to establish BARMM’s first elected parliament.
The region has a long history of political violence and blood feuds involving powerful families, with authorities stepping up security ahead of the vote.
More than 20,000 security personnel have been deployed across BARMM’s voting areas, while quick-response teams have been prepared to deal with potential violence.