Decades of insurgency. Around 40,000 fighters. A Muslim-majority autonomous region with Shari’ah courts. Now 2.4 million voters are choosing its first regular parliament.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao votes on September 14 in an election created by the 2014 peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The MILF abandoned its campaign for an independent state in exchange for extensive autonomy and entered a process intended to demobilise around 40,000 fighters.
That process is unfinished. AP reports around 14,000 fighters have yet to be fully decommissioned.
More than 20,000 security personnel have been deployed for the election and more than 100 international observers are monitoring the vote.
The elected 80-seat parliament will replace the transitional authority that has governed Bangsamoro since its creation.
ISLAM, LAW AND DEMOCRACY
Bangsamoro retains a legally recognised Shari’ah court system.
Its jurisdiction is limited by the Bangsamoro Organic Law and operates within the Philippine judicial system under Supreme Court supervision.
Shari’ah courts deal with specified matters involving Muslims, including areas of personal, family and property law.
Non-Muslims fall under their jurisdiction only when they voluntarily submit to it.
Regular Philippine courts continue to operate.
The larger experiment is now political.
A movement rooted in armed insurgency has accepted elections, constitutional autonomy and limits on religious jurisdiction.
Thousands of its former fighters have surrendered their weapons.
Thousands more still have not.
The test is whether ballots can permanently replace insurgency.
Sources
Associated Press: Bangsamoro holds its first regular parliamentary election
Bangsamoro Government: International observers monitor parliamentary polls
Philippines Supreme Court: Bangsamoro Organic Law
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