Violence mars first parliamentary elections in Bangsamoro

In brief

Three people died and fifteen others were wounded during the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on September 14. A shooting occurred in Cotabato City before polling stations opened following a brawl over voting lines outside a school.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, a Catholic organization that monitors elections, is collecting information regarding these violent incidents. Catholic communities throughout the region held prayer gatherings and requested peaceful voting on election day.

The clashes involved rival factions from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. To manage the elections, more than 20,000 law enforcement officers were deployed across the region, and the Commission on Elections had already placed Cotabato City under supervision due to previous pre-election violence.