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Philippines: Bangsamoro’s Historic Vote Moves Former Rebels From Battlefield to Parliament
9-23-2026
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The first regular parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has brought a remarkable chapter of the Philippines’ long-running Moro conflict into a new phase, with rival political parties led by former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) figures emerging as the two largest forces in the new Parliament.
The Sept. 14 election produced no single-party majority. The Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), led by Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua, won 31 of the Parliament’s 80 seats, while the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), associated with former MILF chairman and former interim chief minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, won 30 seats. The BARMM Grand Coalition secured 15 seats, with the remaining seats going to smaller parties and representatives.
With 41 seats required for a majority, coalition-building will now determine the balance of power and the selection of the region’s first elected chief minister. The 80-member Parliament is composed of 40 regional party representatives, 32 district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.
The result is politically significant because both leading camps emerged from the MILF, the former separatist movement that negotiated an autonomy agreement with the Philippine government after decades of armed conflict. Rather than competing for control through armed struggle, former commanders and their political organizations are now competing through elections and parliamentary bargaining.
From armed conflict to self-government
The election is the latest milestone in a peace process that stretches back decades.
The government and MILF signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014, following years of negotiations. The agreement provided the political and normalization framework for expanded Bangsamoro self-government. The Bangsamoro Organic Law was enacted in 2018, and the BARMM was formally established in 2019.
The peace agreement did not simply establish a new regional government. It also required the transformation of the former armed movement and its communities. The normalization process includes the decommissioning of MILF combatants and weapons, socioeconomic assistance, confidence-building measures, transitional justice and reconciliation.
The original program envisaged the decommissioning of 40,000 MILF combatants. By January 2024, the Bangsamoro government said 26,145 had been decommissioned, or about 65 per cent of the target.
That process remains part of the unfinished work of the peace settlement.
A strong turnout
The election attracted 2,018,478 voters, producing an official turnout of 84.34 per cent among 2,393,202 registered voters. The region encompasses five provinces, three cities and 63 barangays.
The turnout gave the new Parliament a substantial electoral mandate at a pivotal moment. For the first time, residents of the autonomous region directly elected the legislators who will establish the institutions of its regular parliamentary government.
The Parliament is scheduled to assume office on Oct. 30. Its members will organize the legislature, approve laws and budgets, oversee government programs and elect the chief minister.
Rival former allies
The election also revealed a new political division within the former MILF leadership.
Macacua, a former MILF commander, heads the BFP. Murad, the former MILF chairman and first interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro government, is associated with the UBJP. Reuters reported before the final results that the competing camps had emerged as the principal forces in the election and that neither appeared likely to secure the 41 seats needed to govern alone.
The final results confirmed that assessment.
The BFP received 16 of the 40 regional party seats, the UBJP 15, the BARMM Grand Coalition eight and the Bangsamoro People's Democratic Party one. Their final parliamentary totals, however, were 31, 30 and 15 respectively once district and other seats were included.
The outcome leaves coalition negotiations at the centre of the region's immediate political future.
The peace process enters a new test
The election demonstrates an important transformation, but it does not by itself complete the peace process.
The Bangsamoro government has described the political and normalization tracks as interconnected parts of the 2014 agreement. The political track established the autonomous institutions; normalization is intended to help former combatants and conflict-affected communities transition toward peaceful civilian life.
The region still faces the consequences of decades of conflict, including poverty, limited infrastructure, unemployment and continuing local political and security challenges. The broader peace process has also faced delays and implementation difficulties.
That makes the new Parliament's responsibilities considerably larger than choosing a chief minister.
Its success will ultimately be measured by whether autonomy produces functioning institutions and tangible improvements in daily life: education, health care, infrastructure, employment, public services and accountable government.
A different kind of struggle
For decades, the political aspirations of the Bangsamoro were pursued against the backdrop of armed conflict. The Sept. 14 vote offered a different mechanism: competing political organizations seeking authority through ballots, parliamentary seats and coalition negotiations.
That transition is significant, but it is also a test.
The former rebels who helped negotiate the peace now have to demonstrate that political disagreements can be managed through democratic institutions rather than violence. Rivalry over leadership, resources and regional authority will test the strength of those institutions.
The Bangsamoro election therefore represents more than a change in government. It is an important stage in an experiment that began with a peace table and has now reached the ballot box.
The next measure of that experiment will not simply be who becomes chief minister.
It will be whether the institutions created by the peace agreement can deliver the representation, accountability, security and improved living conditions that the promise of autonomy was intended to provide.
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