Gubernatorial candidate Esmael Mangudadatu has cast his vote at 8 a.m. in Buluan town Monday.
Mangudadatu is up against two other candidates perceived as allies of the Ampatuan clan, suspected to be behind the massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists, in Ampatuan town on Nov. 23 last year. Mangudadatu's wife, sisters and several relatives were among those killed in the massacre.
In Datu Piang town, the first votes counted, after several tries, were those of reelectionist mayor Samer Uy, who was at the polling precinct at the Datu Gumabay Elementary School as early as 7 a.m.
The second voter, Badria Andamin, had a problem when her ballot got jammed at the PCOS machine.
The board of election inspectors had the machine "restarted" and voting continued.
Several hours before the polling centers opened for the elections, a brief burst of gunfire was heard at around 1:20 a.m. along the riverbank of Kabunlan River, boundary of Shariff Aguak and Ampatuan towns in Maguindanao, Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said in a text message.
Elements of the 46th Infantry Battalion retaliated with mortar fire, the spokesman said.
No one was reportedly injured, Espina added.
Authorities have yet to identify the perpetrators of the harassment, he also said.
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