Marawi mayoral race faces déjà vu, watchdog says

The group G-Watch Mindanao cautions that beneath the surge of likes and shares on social media could be a machinery of coordinated accounts shaping public perception and muddying the waters of real voter sentiment

MARAWI, Philippines – The 2025 mayoral race in battle-scarred Marawi City may again expose a widening gap between what voters say online and what they do at the ballot box, a citizens watchdog said.

The nongovernmental organization Government Watch Mindanao (G-Watch), led by Isnihayah Binumbaran, said the upcoming election could yield results similar to those of the 2022, where ex-mayor Fahad “Pre” Salic lost to Mayor Majul Gandamra despite the former’s apparent popularity on social media.

The group also cautioned that beneath the surge of likes and shares on social media could be a digital machinery of coordinated accounts – the so-called “trolls” – quietly shaping public perception and muddying the waters of real voter sentiment.

“In the 2022 local elections, Fahad Salic consistently topped the online surveys. Yet, Majul Gandamra won. That could happen again,” Binumbaran told Rappler on Friday, May 2.

Salic, a former three-term mayor who served Marawi from 2007 to 2016, is running under the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). He lost in his comeback bid in 2022 to Gandamra, who first defeated Salic’s half-brother, Omar Solitario Ali, in 2016.

In this year’s elections though, Salic is running against Gandamra’s son, Shariff Zain Gandamra, a Gen Z candidate under the Ompia Party.

The elder Gandamra is seeking the city’s second-highest post, while another son, Mohammad Shaquille Gandamra, a former Sangguniang Kabataan Federation in Marawi president, is vying for a regular city council seat.

In 2022, the nongovernmental organization MJournal Incorporated conducted informal online surveys on Facebook that consistently showed the social media savvy Salic in the lead. One even showed him to be the preference of 82.3% of those who took part in the informal mock polls. 

The Lanao del Sur-based NGO’s Facebook page, which has claimed to be non-partisan, has reached 144,000 followers since its page was created in 2021.

But the results of the 2022 mayoral election were far way different: Gandamra won the election with 33,206 votes, while Salic garnered 21,362. Ahead of the 2025 elections, a new MJournal informal online survey showed Salic ahead again, while Shariff Zain ranked second, and newcomer Umra Camid Tomawis Jr. placed third.

“Salic has more social media engagement compared to Gandamra. His videos are widely circulated online, and he has a large base of young supporters,” Binumbaran said, noting that Salic also often ranks first in online searches for mayoral candidates.

However, Binumbaran warned that coordinated online accounts, or “trolls,” could be distorting public perception through manipulated engagement.

She also cited vote-buying as a deeply entrenched practice in Marawi, describing it as a modern evolution of kandori, a traditional Meranaw form of thanksgiving that has been repurposed as a euphemism for cash handouts during elections.

“Vote-buying is part of our political culture here. Out of 100 voters, it’s rare to find someone who won’t sell their vote, especially during hard times,” said Juhary Pacasum, a registered voter in Marawi.

“Whether you take the money or not, the outcome is often the same. But I choose those who I think can help the city,” he added.

Binumbaran also noted the candidacy of Tomawis, whom she described as a fresh alternative.

“Ang ma offer ni Tomawis, siempre, bagong pangalan. Ikaduwa, eh miyag kuwan sakanigan sa Commission on Audit, parang adan katawan iyan sa government,” she said.

(He’s a new face, and since he worked at the Commission on Audit, many believe he understands how the government works.)

The group said it would continue monitoring the race, citing its implications for governance and democratic participation in Marawi. – Rappler.com

Abdul Hafiz Tacoranga Malawani is a campus journalist from Marawi City, Lanao del Sur studying Information Technology at Mindanao State University Marawi. The editor in chief of Mindanao Varsitarian, he is also an Aries Rufo Fellowship candidate from April-May 2025.