Three people shot dead in the Philippines ahead of Bangsamoro elections — Channel NewsAsia
A shooting occurred in the Philippine city of Cotabato on the eve of polling stations opening in the semi-autonomous Muslim region of Bangsamoro. Three people were killed and another 15 were wounded. Channel NewsAsia reports, citing AFP.
Clash near a polling station
According to Cotabato police chief Jibin Bongcayao, the incident occurred shortly before midnight near a school used as a polling station in the regional capital. The conflict began when two groups fought over a place in the queue to be the first to vote.
Police said the dispute escalated into shoving, then a brawl, after which shooting began in the crowded area. Bongcayao said those involved in the conflict belonged to rival political parties that emerged from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
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The region's first parliamentary elections
Residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were due to elect the region's first parliament. The vote marked the culmination of a peace process that had continued intermittently since the late 1990s and led to the creation of Bangsamoro in the southern Philippines.
Security measures were stepped up in the region ahead of the elections: more than 20,000 security personnel were deployed in voting areas, and rapid-response groups were formed to address possible violence. Last month, the convoy of the region's interim chief minister, appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos, came under fire.
A separate explosion incident
In another incident, a man died in hospital early on Monday after an explosion near another polling station. Police are continuing to determine the cause of the explosion.
