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Three people were killed and 15 others injured in a shooting ahead of the opening of polling stations on Monday in a Muslim region in the Philippines with semi-autonomous rule, which is set to elect its first parliament.
These elections mark the culmination of an intermittent peace process that began in the late 1990s and led to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the southernmost part of the country.
Cotabato City Police Chief, Jebeen Pongkiyaw, stated that the shooting incident occurred just before midnight as members of competing political factions jostled for priority in casting their votes.
Pongkiyaw said regarding the incident that occurred outside a polling station in the region's capital, "It started with a dispute between two groups over a spot in the waiting line"
He added, "It then escalated from a scuffle to a physical altercation, culminating in a shooting in a crowded area"
Pongkiyao explained that the men belonged to rival parties that emerged from the 'Moro Islamic Liberation Front,' which fought for decades to achieve autonomy in this predominantly Catholic country.
In a region that has suffered from political violence as well as bloody feuds among powerful families, party leaders told Agence France-Presse that holding peaceful elections is a success in itself.
Security measures were heightened across the Bangsamoro region in recent days, with over 20,000 security personnel deployed to polling areas, and rapid response teams formed to address any potential acts of violence.
Last month, a convoy carrying the region's interim prime minister, appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos, was ambushed and shot at.
In a separate incident, a man died in the hospital in the early hours of Monday after an explosion near another polling station, and the police are still investigating the cause of the incident.
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