(Reuters) Cotabato, Philippines — Voters across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao began casting ballots Monday in the region’s first-ever parliamentary elections, a historic milestone following decades of armed conflict and years of negotiated peace. Nearly 2.4 million registered voters are choosing the region’s 80-member parliament, which will in turn select a chief minister to lead the Philippines’ only parliamentary-style government. The vote comes under heightened security after at least three people were killed and 15 wounded in poll-eve violence in Cotabato City, while authorities in Basilan also reported gunfire, an explosion, and allegations of pre-shaded ballots.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared the day a special non-working holiday throughout BARMM and called the election a “defining moment” for the region and the country, describing it as the culmination of a peace process tracing back to 1968. The elections had been postponed four times since originally scheduled for May 2022. Newly elected officials will serve an extended five-year term beginning October 30, following a transition period overseen by the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority.