BARMM Election Campaign Kicks Off; 2 Candidates Assured of Victory Unopposed

The 45-day campaign period for the 1st Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections, scheduled for September 14, has commenced in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Philippines. A total of 631 candidates and nominees are vying for 80 parliamentary seats, with nearly 2.4 million voters expected to participate. The seats comprise 40 from political parties, 32 from single districts, and eight sectoral representatives. However, even before the campaign officially began, two districts in Maguindanao del Norte have already confirmed their winners. Ibrahim Pendat Ibay of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) for the 2nd Parliamentary District and Ishak Veloso Mastura, also of the BFP, for the 5th Parliamentary district are running unopposed and are assured of victory. Both are members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the interim governing body of BARMM. Among the eight sectoral representatives, six will be elected through direct vote, including two for settler communities, and one each for women, youth, Ulama, and traditional leaders. The two representatives for Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIP) will be selected through tribal assemblies prior to the September 14 polls. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has stated it will not print excess ballots to prevent allegations of fraud, emphasizing a strict one-to-one ratio to ensure election integrity. BARMM consists of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Tawi-Tawi, along with the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, and a special geographic area comprising 63 villages. Thirteen Regional Parliamentary Political Parties (RPPPs) are participating, including the Bangsamoro Party (BAPA) of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the political wing of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua is running as an independent candidate for the 3rd district of Maguindanao del Norte. This election marks a significant transition for BARMM, moving from an appointed interim government to a regular government elected by the people, as stipulated by the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro peace accord. Key aspects of the peace agreement's implementation, including the decommissioning of combatants and normalization processes, are still ongoing.