Bangsmoro’s new election date set for 14 September
President Marcos Jr. signed Muslim Mindanao law, establishing the rules for long-delayed elections. Starting in 2031, local elections will align with nationwide voting. The Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA) welcomed the process towards full democratic transition; for Chief Minister Macacua, “this election marks the full exercise of the people’s sovereign will.”
Manila (AsiaNews) – The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced that the first-ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will take place on 14 September 2026, using Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) and equipment deployed during national and local elections on 12 May 2025.
This comes after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act (RA) 12317 on 25 March 2026, resetting the date to the second Monday of September 2026, which marks a key step in the region’s transition to a fully elected parliamentary government.
According to COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia, the new law provides clarity and direction for the long-delayed polls, mandating that future BARMM parliamentary elections will synchronise with national and local elections starting in 2031 and every three years thereafter.
As per the law, COMELEC will soon notify the schedule of dates for filing certificates of candidacy, the implementation of the gun ban, and the official campaign period.
The interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will be functioning as the interim government in the BARMM following the extension of the transition period.
The lawmakers elected in the BARMM parliamentary elections will start their term of office at noon on 30 October 2026 till 30 June 2031. Beginning in 2031, elected officials will assume office at noon on 30 June following their election.
The funds needed to implement RA 12317 will come from the available COMELEC appropriations, while the BARMM government may provide an additional budget, if required.
The inaugural Bangsamoro elections have undergone multiple postponements. In January 2025, COMELEC deferred the election due to legal and operational issues, particularly the delayed enactment of the redistricting law.
For its part, the BTA, or Bangsamoro Government, welcomed the new law, saying it is an important step towards the region’s full democratic transition.
In a statement, Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua thanked the national government for the crucial step it has taken. According to him, the new law clearly stipulates a timetable for the transition from the interim BTA to a democratically elected Parliament.
“As enshrined in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), this election marks the full exercise of the people’s sovereign will – the formal transition from an interim government to a democratically elected parliament," the chief minister said.
He further emphasised their readiness to actively participate in the September 2026 poll, with a commitment to ensuring a peaceful, credible, and democratic process that genuinely reflects the will of the Bangsamoro people.
Muslim Mindanao in the southern Philippines has been a conflict zone for decades along political, cultural, social, and religious lines. The conflict has claimed thousands of lives and destroyed government and private property and infrastructure.
Christian and Muslim religious leaders, along with indigenous communities, civil society groups, and government agencies, have been striving to promote peace and harmony in the region through dialogue and diplomacy.
The journey has not always been smooth, since the bone of contention has been the historical injustice meted out against the indigenous peoples and their right to their ancestral lands.
After years of political upheavals in the region, the national government set up the BARMM as an autonomous region in the southern Philippines in 2019, replacing the pre-existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The BARMM has a special autonomous status with its own parliamentary government and Shari'a law system, to provide self-governance to Muslim Filipinos, who are the majority in the region, although Christians and indigenous people also call it home.
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21/02/2025 18:59
09/06/2025 19:03
