Bangsamoro Region in Philippines Holds First Parliamentary Elections

The Bangsamoro region in the southern Philippines is holding its first parliamentary elections on Monday. The vote follows a 2014 peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which was brokered by Malaysia. Under this deal, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front abandoned its goal of a separate state in exchange for autonomy.

The elections determine 80 seats in the parliament, including 40 political party representatives, 32 district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives. Unlike the national presidential system, voters do not directly elect the chief minister. Instead, the members of parliament will select the chief minister from among themselves by a majority vote during their first session. Election officials are aiming for an 80 percent turnout among nearly 2.4 million voters, after polling was postponed for several years.

The region has experienced decades of insurgency and violence. One source notes that over 120,000 lives were lost during a five decade long armed struggle. Another source attributes this history of strife to centuries of colonialism by Spain, the US, and Filipino Christian settlers, which turned Muslims into a minority group in the resource rich Mindanao area.

Center left framing emphasizes the historic nature of the vote as a conclusion to decades of conflict. Center right framing focuses on the specific administrative structure of the autonomous region and the geopolitical history of the land.