The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has just held its first regular parliamentary election, marking a major shift from the transitional government to a Parliament elected by Bangsamoro voters.

The September 14 polls were conducted across BARMM’s 32 parliamentary districts, with more than 2.3 million registered voters expected to participate. But unlike the regular national and local elections most Filipinos are familiar with, the BARMM election follows a different system.

So, what exactly is the difference?

In a regular election, voters directly choose officials such as the president, governor, mayor, vice mayor, and members of Congress or local councils.

In BARMM, voters elect members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, which then forms the regional government.

The Parliament has 80 members, with seats coming from regional political parties, parliamentary districts, and sectoral representation.

One major difference is the party vote. BARMM voters choose a regional political party, and parliamentary seats are allocated according to the parties’ share of the vote.

Voters also elect a representative from their respective parliamentary district, while designated seats are reserved for sectors including women, youth, settler communities, traditional leaders, ulama, and non-Moro Indigenous Peoples.

Another major difference is how the Chief Minister (Punong Ministro ng Bangsamoro) is chosen.

Unlike a president, governor, or mayor, the BARMM Chief Minister is not directly elected by voters. Instead, members of the Bangsamoro Parliament choose the Chief Minister from among themselves.

Simply put, a regular election largely involves voters directly choosing individual officials. The BARMM election combines party, district, and sectoral representation under a parliamentary form of government.

For voters, understanding the difference is important because their choices do more than determine who wins individual seats. The results shape the composition of Parliament—and ultimately who will lead the Bangsamoro regional government.

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