The Philippines’ partial and preliminary results shows that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. son of a former Philippines dictator might return to the country’s highest office.
The 64-year-old Marcos, better known as “Bongbong has so far won 56% of the vote, compared to 28% for rival Leni Robredo.
Mr. Marcos’ victory would return his family to power 36 years after they were ousted by a popular revolution.
Critics allege his campaign was fuelled by misinformation, which he denies.
Turnout on voting day was high and previous elections in the country have largely been ruled to be fair. Isolated incidents of violence – including the shooting of three people near a polling station – were not reflected widely across the country, officials said.
Opinion polls in the run-up to the election placed Mr. Marcos Jr ahead of his nearest rival, Ms. Robredo, by dozens of percentage points.
Critics say this was the result of Mr. Marcos Jr consistently painting his father’s rule as a “golden age” for the Philippines, whitewashing a period of rampant corruption and widespread poverty.
His father, Ferdinand Marcos, who became president in 1965, imposed martial law in 1972 and presided over a brutal regime that saw thousands of dissenters and critics jailed and killed.
Mr. Marcos Sr, who died in 1989, and his wife Imelda stole an estimated $10bn (£8.1bn) from the Philippines’ coffers, becoming infamous examples of public graft.
BY BBC