Mock elections were held in conflict-torn southern Philippines ahead of the country's midterm polls.

Officials from the Commission on Election (Comelec) flew to the remote town of Jolo in Sulu province to observe the election rehearsal on January 25.

Hundreds of villagers flocked to a local school, used as a voting precinct, to test the functionality and transmission of vote-counting machines.

Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said: 'The mock elections is an activity that aims to simulate the end-to-end voting process. This is not a simple exercise but is done in compliance and adherence to the law by the Comelec.'

Comelec chairman George Garcia said the voting results were transmitted from the town using Starlink internet services.

Provincial governor Abdusakur Tan allayed fears of possible violence erupting in the run-up to the elections. He said: 'Rivalries have become rare here because I warned the politicians. Now the situation is very good.'

Sulu is among the poorest areas in southern Philippines, where Islamist insurgency and election-related killings are rampant.

The region has a violent political culture as affluent local warlords have access to their own private armies to intimidate their rivals.

In November last year, two election officers were killed in separate towns in what police believe to be politically motivated murders.

In 2009, southern Philippines was the scene of the deadliest election-related violence on record.

The Ampatuan Massacre, also known as the Maguindanao Massacre, took place in Maguindanao province. At least 58 people, including 32 journalists, were murdered and buried in mass graves.

The chilling mass murder was the result of a political rivalry between the powerful Ampatuan family, who still hold power in the region, and the Mangudadatu family, whose members were seeking to challenge their dominance.