Some 1.4 million voters in the Philippines' Muslim self-rule region in the south are expected to vote today in an election which could determine the future of the state's experiment in granting autonomy to secessionist groups.

Some 15,000 government troops went on full alert yesterday to repel possible violence by followers of renegade Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) ex-governor, Nur Misuari, ahead of today's elections to pick a new governor.

The chief of military in the southern Philippines, Lt General Roy Cimatu, said government troops have been deployed to ensure peaceful elections in the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.

Lt General Cimatu said security had been particularly tightened in Sulu following an uprising there last week by Misuari, whose estimated 500 loyalists stormed several military detachments as well as the army's 104th Brigade based in the capital Jolo, but failed to overcome government forces.

"We have enough troops to secure the elections in the autonomous region. Soldiers were also pursuing Misuari's forces and the extremist Abu Sayyaf in Jolo...there will no let-up in the operation," he said.

Lt General Cimatu also said intelligence reports indicated that Misuari's group could carry out bombings in the southern Philippines to disrupt the elections.

"We are expecting bombings and terrorism during the elections. They really want to disrupt and stop the elections," he added.

Misuari has consistently resisted the holding of elections for governor in the ARMM as well as the plebiscite which was carried out last August to expand the coverage of the Muslim self-rule region.

He claimed these two political exercises violate the 1996 peace agreement he signed with Manila as then chairman of the MNLF, and that the expansion of the ARMM is "mandatory".

In Manila, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo asked ARMM voters to dispel their fears and come out and vote today.

With the arrest of Misuari "we expect a rapid return of normalcy" in the area, the president said. Arroyo is supporting Parouk Hussin's bid for the governorship.

"I believe that the best man who can do the final implementation (of the government-MNLF agreement) is the MNLF candidate," the President noted. Analysts say that the ARMM election will be crucial in proving the success of the government's experiment in granting autonomy to secessionist groups such as the MNLF.

Abdul Abubakar, a professor at the Mindanao State University and a noted political observer, said that if the ARMM polls push through without hitches, this would prove that Muslims in the self-rule region still have confidence in the arrangement.