MARAWI — Voters across the Philippines’ autonomous Muslim region began casting ballots for their first elected parliament today morning, hours after gun violence left at least three people dead outside a polling station.

The polls are the culmination of an on-off peace process that began in the late 1990s and established the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the country’s far south.

More than two million voters are eligible to vote for 80 parliament seats being contested by 13 parties.

In Marawi, a city long-identified with a bloody showdown between government forces and jihadists, AFP journalists saw long lines of voters peacefully queued outside polling stations with tanks and security personnel standing watch.

“We’re excited, we came here early in the morning,” said Mohammad Actar Macabada, 18, who had just cast his vote.

“I’m nervous because there might be chaos. Before there was chaos. Now it’s peaceful,” he added. “I’m excited for the results.”

Given the region’s long history of political violence and blood feuds between powerful families, a peaceful election would be considered a successful one, party leaders told AFP last week.

But the fragile peace showed cracks in the early hours of today.