1st BARMM Parliamentary Election 2026

COTABATO CITY (UPDATE 1)— More than 2.3 million registered voters across 32 parliamentary districts cast ballots on Monday, September 14, 2026, in the first regular parliamentary election of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), marking a major milestone in the region’s decades-long journey toward self-governance.

The election will form the region’s first democratically elected 80-seat Bangsamoro Parliament, whose members will take office on October 30, 2026, and choose the region’s Chief Minister from among their ranks.

How the Parliament Is Structured

The 80 seats are divided into three categories:

A Transition to Democratic Rule

The vote formally ends the seven-year term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the interim body that governed the region since its establishment in 2019 under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act No. 11054).

“As enshrined in the Bangsamoro Organic Law, this election marks the full exercise of the people’s sovereign will—the formal transition from an interim government to a democratically elected Parliament,” said Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua.

Voters cast ballots across 5,212 clustered precincts, covering 105 municipalities and three cities. Results are expected as early as election night, with formal proclamation targeted for September 15. The next parliamentary election is scheduled for May 2031, to be held concurrently with national and local elections.

In the BARMM parliamentary election, voters do not directly vote for a President, Governor, or Regional Governor because the region operates under a parliamentary system.

Instead, voters elect members to fill the 80 seats in the Bangsamoro Parliament. These seats are classified into three distinct positions, followed by executive positions elected internally by the parliament.

Parliamentary Seats (80 Total)

1. Party Representatives (40 Seats)

• How they are elected: Voters cast their ballot for a registered Regional Parliamentary Political Party rather than an individual.
• Allocation: Seats are distributed through proportional representation. The higher the percentage of total votes a party gets, the more seats it wins from its pre-submitted list of nominees.

2. District Representatives (32 Seats)

• How they are elected: Voters choose an individual candidate registered within their specific parliamentary district.
• Allocation: The candidate with the highest number of votes in that district wins the seat (first-past-the-post system).

3. Sectoral Representatives (8 Seats)

These seats are reserved to ensure that marginalized or specific cultural groups have a voice in the government:

• Settler Communities: 2 seats
• Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (IPs): 2 seats (chosen through their own ancestral assembly rather than the general ballot)
• Women: 1 seat
• Youth: 1 seat
• Traditional Leaders: 1 seat
• Ulama (Islamic Scholars): 1 seat

Executive Positions (Elected by the Parliament)

Once all 80 Members of Parliament (MPs) are officially sworn in, they will convene to vote from among themselves to fill the top leadership positions of the regional government:

• Chief Minister: The head of government and chief executive of BARMM.
• Deputy Chief Ministers (Two): Assist the Chief Minister in regional governance.
• Wali: The ceremonial and symbolic head of the Bangsamoro region.
• Speaker of the Parliament: The presiding officer who manages parliamentary sessions and debates.

1st BARMM Parliamentary Election – Political Parties Results

Time update 11:22 PM

Source: PPCRV Server: 1st BARMM Parliamentary Election