​Bangsamoro’s parliamentary election is a turning point

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is holding its first parliamentary election to replace the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority that has governed since 2019. The ballot marks the formal close of the transition process set out after the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which followed decades of armed conflict and negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Manila.

BARMM covers territories in Mindanao largely inhabited by the Moro, a Muslim-majority indigenous population that maintained autonomous polities for centuries and continued to press for self-determination after Philippine independence. Earlier autonomy efforts under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), created in 1989, were judged insufficient; the 2012 Framework Agreement and later the Organic Law were intended to provide broader fiscal and political powers, a regional parliament and a justice system.

The vote comes amid internal splits within the MILF and wider security concerns. Two factions have emerged—one aligned with MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and another around Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, who recently joined the newly formed Bangsamoro Federalist Party and survived an attack on his convoy. In early September Macacua and about 40 commanders were dismissed from the MILF’s military wing for alleged insubordination. Manila has also deployed military forces to key areas ahead of the election.

Observers and local voices warn that longstanding problems such as vote-buying, election-related violence and electoral manipulation could undermine the poll’s credibility and dampen turnout. Political leaders, the national government and the region’s citizens all face a test: to uphold the peace agreement, ensure a transparent and orderly vote, and translate the transition into stable, representative governance for BARMM’s future.