Watchdogs flag ballot violations, vote-buying as BARMM polls near end - Rappler

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PRE-SHADED BALLOT. The Commission on Elections reports ballots in several voting precincts in Maluso, Basilan, have been pre-shaded ahead of the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections on September 14, 2026.

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CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – By early afternoon, the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro region was still hours from closing, but election watchdogs were already compiling a troubling picture.

Reports of alleged pre-shaded ballots, voters being told how to vote, money changing hands, and armed people inside voting centers raised questions about whether some voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were able to cast their ballots freely and in secrecy.

The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) both reported irregularities as voting progressed, although they said polling was orderly in many places.

Namfrel, in an early afternoon bulletin, cited allegations of pre-shaded ballots, unauthorized handling of ballots, attempts to bypass voting procedures, and the blocking of accredited observers.

The election monitor said it was “deeply concerned by reports of violence, ballot fraud, and obstruction of accredited observers in several localities” even as it called on candidates, security forces, and elections officials to “help ensure that the remainder of the electoral exercise is peaceful and calls on voters and volunteers alike to remain vigilant.” 

LENTE, in a 2 pm bulletin, reported vote-buying, ballot secrecy violations, unauthorized assistance and firearms inside voting centers as voting progressed in the first BARMM parliamentary elections.

The allegations could not be immediately independently verified. The Commission on Elections (Comelec), however, earlier ordered the replacement of ballots in Maluso, Basilan, and placed the town under its control after pre-shaded ballots were discovered.

Assisted voting was among the most widespread concerns. LENTE said 187 of 501 reports involving voter assistance, or about 37%, concerned assisted voting. It warned excessive or unauthorized assistance could compromise ballot secrecy and allow those helping voters to substitute their own choices.

“A major issue to emerge from the BARMM elections thus far is the vulnerability of voters’ ability to freely choose their own representatives, with the sanctity of the ballot repeatedly violated and the assisted voting process abused across several areas LENTE monitored,” the group said.

LENTE added, “In its worst form, an assistor is no longer assisting the voter at all but substituting their own choice for the true will of the electorate.”

In 137 of 492 reports, or 28%, voters did not personally feed their ballots into automated counting machines. Electoral board members were reported to have done so in 119 cases, contrary to election rules.

In Maguindanao del Norte, some voters reportedly left polling places before their ballots were fed into machines, allowing watchers to complete the process. In 41 reports, people assisting voters had helped more than the legal limit of three voters, LENTE said.

The watchdog also recorded 19 reports of vote-buying and 27 cases of partisan political activity by electoral board members.

Security concerns included seven reports of people carrying firearms inside voting centers, including three incidents each in Talitay, Maguindanao del Norte, and Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.

Namfrel separately reported an intimidation and shooting incident at Pilot Central School in Cotabato City, where a volunteer also witnessed pre-shaded ballots.

In Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte, a Namfrel volunteer reported seeing an electoral board member shade multiple official ballots and feed most of them into a vote-counting machine without voters present. Another volunteer reported receiving a pre-shaded ballot in Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao del Sur.

Namfrel also reported delays in election materials in Al-Barka, Basilan, because of security concerns involving armed people along transport routes. Some electoral boards were still being deployed as late as 10:20 am.

Despite the reports, Namfrel said most polling places it observed opened on time, with electoral boards, voting machines and election materials in place.

Voting is scheduled to end at 7 pm, followed by counting and canvassing. The elections are the first parliamentary polls in BARMM since the autonomous region was created in 2019. – Rappler.com