IN NUMBERS: First BARMM parliamentary elections

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is set to hold its first parliamentary elections on September 14, with over 600 candidates competing for 80 seats after multiple postponements. Approximately 2.3 million registered voters will participate, with a significant gender gap as nearly 70% of candidates are men, and 38% of candidates belong to Generation X. Security concerns are heightened, with 108 areas classified as election areas of concern, particularly in Lanao del Sur, due to the region's history of violence. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is about to elect its parliament for the first time. It will mark the Bangsamoro people’s third attempt at regional governance. The landmark vote was originally scheduled for 2022, but at least four postponements in May 2022, May 2025, October 2025, and again in March 2026 pushed back the polls and extended the region’s initial three-year transition period to roughly seven years. Now, over 600 candidates are vying for seats in the 80-member Bangsamoro Parliament to be elected on September 14. More than 2.3 million registered voters are set to decide the outcome of these historic — but highly contested — polls. The elections are happening as tensions continue to heighten within the upper ranks of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), whose members currently have a guaranteed majority in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) or the BARMM’s interim regional government. Here are all the numbers you need to know about the first-ever BARMM parliamentary elections. 2.3 million registered voters A total of 2,393,202 people registered to vote in the upcoming BARMM parliamentary elections. Lanao del Sur has the largest voting population, with 727,546 registered voters, making up 30.4% of the voting population. This is followed by Maguindanao del Sur with 469,114 voters and Maguindanao del Norte with 419,365 voters. These votes will decide who fills the 80 seats in the region’s first elected Bangsamoro Parliament. 679 candidacies filed for 80 seats A total of 679 candidates filed to run in the BARMM parliamentary elections. While one regional party with 40 candidates — the Moro Ako Party — had its registration canceled over alleged misrepresentation, it remains on the ballots. Out of the 679 candidates represented on the ballots, 454 are running as party representatives, 107 as district representatives, and 78 as sectoral representatives. The 80-seat Bangsamoro Parliament is composed of: 40 party representatives, who will be elected through a proportional representation system 32 district representatives, who will represent BARMM’s parliamentary districts 8 sectoral representatives reserved for women, youth, traditional leaders, ulama, settler communities, and other sectors The two representatives for the non-Moro indigenous peoples were already elected on August 25, ahead of the September 14 polls. This is because the Bangsamoro Organic Law requires NMIP representatives to be elected using a unique selection process that “adhere[s] to their customary laws and indigenous processes.” Nearly 70% of candidates are men An estimated 7 in every 10 candidates in the BARMM parliamentary race are men. Of the 678 candidates whose genders were declared, 468 are male (68.92%) and 210 are female (30.93%). The share of women candidates barely surpasses the 30% threshold set for party nominees under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code. For the party-seat race, 12 of the 13 parties that submitted nominee lists met the 30% requirement, according to election watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE). Only the Indigenous, Settlers, Sama and Minorities Alliance Party did not fulfill the requirement, though they filed only a total of 14 candidates. The parties nominated an average of 13 to 14 women each, although the proportion varied across slates. But LENTE pointed out that majority of the women were ranked lower in nominee lists. The gender gap shifts in other races. There are only 14 female candidates for district representatives as against 93 males, while the sectoral race has 24 female candidates to 54 males. 38% of candidates are Gen X Generation X candidates, or those currently aged 46 to 61 years old, make up the largest share of the field with 261 candidates. After them, there are 174 millennials and 170 baby boomers. There are also 52 Gen Z candidates running for seats, along with 3 candidates from the Silent Generation. The oldest candidate in the pool is 82 years old, while the youngest is 18. The Bangsamoro Organic Law requires parliament members to be at least 25 years old on the day of the election, except for youth representatives who must be 18 to 30 years old. 34% of candidates from Maguindanao del Norte Maguindanao del Norte accounts for the largest share of candidates in the BARMM parliamentary race. Of the 678 candidates, 229, or about 34%, come from the province. Lanao del Sur followed with 202 candidates, then Tawi-Tawi with 80, and Basilan with 75. Maguindanao del Sur has 67 candidates, while 26 are from the Special Geographic Area. The high number of candidates is matched by the province’s outsized role in the region’s politics. The Bangsamoro Parliament designated Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, as the seat of the Bangsamoro government under Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 37. The government center is being established in Barangay Sarmiento in the same municipality. But Maguindanao del Norte’s political weight predates the new government center. The province is closely tied to the MILF and its political arm, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) — a major force in BARMM politics. UBJP, BFP field about 23% of the whole candidate pool Across all the COCs filed for the upcoming elections, a total of 29 different political parties were named, though only 16 applied for accreditation. Out of those 16, 13 fielded candidates for party representatives. There are 23 candidates running independently, based on their COCs, including the BTA’s Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, who was stripped of his positions under the MILF after a falling out with UBJP members over his appointment in 2025. The UBJP fielded the largest total number of candidates, with 81 total across the three different races. It is followed by the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) — now chaired by Macacua, despite still being listed as an independent candidate on the ballots. BFP has a total of 74 candidates. Candidates from these two parties accounted for 22.83% of the total number of candidacies filed for the BARMM elections. Other parties with sizable slates include the BARMM Grand Coalition (57 candidates), Bangsamoro Party (55 candidates), and Bangsamoro Empowerment and Social Transformation Party (45 candidates). Family names shaping the BARMM candidate pool Some surnames and middle names appear repeatedly among those seeking seats in the Bangsamoro Parliament. Clan and dynastic politics have been a prominent threat to the electoral process and the BARMM’s development as a whole, an issue repeatedly raised by watchdog groups. Usman and Abubakar each appear nine times, the most out of the candidate pool. This is no coincidence, as the Usmans are an MILF-affiliated clan and the Abubakars are also a powerful family mainly based in Sulu, which used to be part of the BARMM. Other notable clans and dynasties whose names repeatedly cropped up in candidacies include the Ampatuans and Midtimbangs of Maguindanao, the Alonto-Adiongs of Lanao del Sur, and the Sali clan of Tawi-Tawi. 108 election areas of concern Heightened security risks because of the BARMM elections prompted the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to place 108 areas under watch. The categories classify the threat levels in each area as follows: Green – areas with no reported security concerns or that are considered relatively peaceful and orderly Yellow – areas where there have been recent suspected election-related incidents, intense partisan political rivalries, or a history of being placed under Comelec control Orange – areas with serious armed threats or two or more of the security concerns in the yellow category Red – areas with the highest level of concern, where there are one or more security concerns from the yellow category, serious armed threats, or if there are grounds for the declaration of Comelec control (e.g., the presence of paramilitary forces and private armies; fraud or other election irregularities in past elections) Lanao del Sur — where the 2017 Marawi siege happened — has 40 areas of concern, the highest number of such areas in the region. This is followed by Maguindanao del Sur with 24 and Maguindanao del Norte with 13. Fears over election violence are particularly prevalent in the BARMM, given the region’s long history of violence. Ahead of the September elections, watchdog groups like Climate Conflict Action Asia have warned about a broader surge in violence targeting state security forces in the region. (READ MORE: Extremists blamed for deadly ambush as monitor flags attack surge in BARMM) Even in the 2025 national elections and the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, BARMM accounted for most of the areas of concern in the country. – with reports from Lance Magno, Cyrene Sancon, Kristine Santillan, and Angel Cesa/Rappler.com Ava Dumaup, Lance Magno, Cyrene Sancon, Kristine Santillan, and Angel Cesa are interns and volunteers of Rappler’s Research and Data unit.