Philippines: Marcos Jr. wins presidential election landslide

Marcos Jr.

With most votes counted, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had more than 30.8 million votes. A win would return the Marcos dynasty to power. Hundreds gathered to protest the results of the election.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the ousted dictator, looks set for a comprehensive victory in Monday's presidential election in the Philippines.

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters gathered Philippines' elections body to reject the unofficial election results. They said thousands were unable to vote, because of machines malfunctioning.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) denied calls to extend the voting hours and stressed the number of affected machines was small.

Having collected more than 30.8 million votes in the unofficial results with more than 97% of the votes counted, Marcos is on course to replace President Rodrigo Duterte.

"If we'll be fortunate, I'll expect that your help will not wane, your trust will not wane because we have a lot of things to do in the times ahead," Marcos said in a video he shared late Monday night.

Election officials said the vote was relatively peaceful despite pockets of violence in the country's volatile south. 

The Commission on Elections reported problems with some 2,000 malfunctioning vote-counting machines, power outages, missing names on voters' list and otherm but said turnout appeared to have been high.

Marcos' nearest challenger, Vice President Leni Robredo, had 14.7 million votes.

Robredo conceded defeat, and said, "The voice of the people is getting clearer and clearer. In the name of the Philippines, which I know you also love so dearly, we should hear this voice because in the end, we only have." She urged her supporters to "press for the truth."

Who were the main candidates?

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also known as "Bongbong," is pitted against the incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo.

Marcos Jr. is the son and namesake of a dictator whose two decade rule ended in a public revolt and his family's retreat into exile. He is leading by over 30 percentage points, and has topped every poll this year. This means Robredo will need a late surge or low turnout if she is to win the presidency.

Polls opened at 6 am local time (2200 GMT) and are set to stay open longer than usual, till 7 pm, due to COVID precautions. 

Eight other candidates, including former boxing star Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and former national police chief Sen. Panfilo Lacson, have lagged far behind in voter preference surveys.

- DW News