| SOLDIERS AND POLICE have been placed on full alert to prevent violence during the local elections today, in a region with a bloody history of political and clan rivalries and insurgency. (AP Photo) |
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COTABATO — Soldiers and police are on full alert as more than a million Muslims go to the polls in the southern Philippines today to elect a new government for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Up for grabs will be the governorship of the ARMM, the vice-governorship and 24 legislative assembly seats. The ARMM, which has a bloody history of factional violence and Islamic insurgency, includes five predominantly Muslim provinces and a city.
“Let us have an election that is free from goons, guns and gold,” President Arroyo said. The candidates are led by eight Muslim leaders vying for the governorship of the sprawling region, considered the country’s poorest.
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