Coalition talks likely as no party dominates Philippines’ Bangsamoro region

What the report says

Unofficial results from the Bangsamoro autonomous region in the southern Philippines indicate that no single party is on track to control the new parliament, raising the likelihood of coalition negotiations to choose the region’s first chief minister. Al Jazeera reported that, with 98.56 percent of party-list votes counted by a church-backed election watchdog, the leading bloc had only a plurality rather than a majority.

The election has centered on rival factions linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the former separatist movement that struck an autonomy deal with the Philippine government. The United Bangsamoro Justice Party is led by Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, while the Bangsamoro Federalist Party is led by Abdulraof Macacua, who was appointed interim chief by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2025. According to the unofficial tally cited by Al Jazeera, Macacua’s camp was ahead, followed by Murad’s bloc.

A third force, the BARMM Grand Coalition, also appeared to have enough support to influence post-election bargaining. The vote is for party, district and sectoral representatives who will form an 80-member parliament and ultimately pick the first elected chief minister. Turnout was reported at about 80 percent, with roughly 1.8 million votes cast from 2.39 million registered voters.

The outcome matters because the election is widely seen as a key step in the implementation of the 2014 peace agreement that gave Bangsamoro its autonomous status. If no bloc can govern alone, the next phase will likely depend on compromise among former rivals.