Daijiworld Media Network – Manila
Manila, Sep 14: Three people were killed and 15 others sustained injuries after a shooting incident broke out shortly before midnight on Sunday at a polling center in Cotabato City, located in Maguindanao del Norte province, southern Philippines.
The violent clash occurred ahead of the historic parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which commenced on Monday to elect the region's first-ever parliament, reported Xinhua news agency.
According to local police, tension flared when rival political factions struggled for position in the queue for polling, escalating into shoving, fistfights, and eventually gunfire within the crowded premises.
Local media reports indicate that over 2 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots across the region for 80 parliamentary seats contested by 13 political parties. Security measures had already been intensified across BARMM, with over 20,000 security personnel deployed near polling areas alongside rapid response units setup to counter potential electoral violence.
Monday's vote is viewed as a critical milestone toward meaningful self-governance following decades of armed insurgency and conflict in the Muslim-majority region. International observers and peace monitors consider the exercise a major test of whether the autonomy framework established under a 2014 peace agreement between the Philippine government and Muslim separatists can be sustained through stable democratic processes.
The peace accord and autonomy deal were designed to bring an end to a protracted conflict that claimed over 120,000 lives and displaced nearly 2 million people over several decades.
"The election marks a milestone in the continuing journey of BARMM towards lasting peace, democratic governance and meaningful self-determination," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr stated in a video message, urging voters to participate in what he characterized as a "defining moment" for both the region and the nation.