The voter turnout in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) reached around 80 percent despite late voting in some areas, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Tuesday, 15 September.

“Hindi nagpatinag ‘yung mga kapatid nating Moro,” said Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia during a radio interview.

(Our Moro brothers and sisters were not shaken.)

“Sila ay bumoto kahapon sa kauna-unahang Bangsamoro parliamentary elections,” added Garcia.

(They went out to vote in the first BARMM parliamentary elections.)

The chairman cited “more or less 80 percent ang voters’ turnout sa buong Bangsamoro.”

(The voter turnout in the entire BARMM is more or less 80 percent.)

Among BARMM’s 2,393,000 registered voters, 1,850,216 people went out to vote on September 14.

The number does not yet include the 16,563 registered voters in the 36 polling precincts in Maluso, Basilan.

Voting at the 36 polling precincts in Maluso started only on Tuesday after the Comelec reprinted the ballots following the discovery of pre-shaded ballots.

“Talaga naman sa kauna-unahang Bangsamoro parliament, bagama’t merong ilang insidente na karahasan, masasabi natin generally peaceful, successful naman,” declared the chairman.

(Despite incidents of violence, the BARMM polls were generally peaceful and successful.)

Since the eve of the elections on September 13, police said that, as of the night of September 14, there had been 16 election-related incidents, including those that resulted in five deaths and injuries to 16 individuals.

“Subalit ‘yun naman pong mga naging karahasan ay talaga naman naconfine lamang sa siyudad ng Cotabato at doon naman sa ibang parte ng Bangsamoro, in fairness, naging maayos naman po ang pagboto ng mga kababayan natin,” Garcia noted.

(But the incidents of violence were confined to Cotabato City and, in fairness, the rest of BARMM experienced orderly elections.)