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The Philippines
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Philippine election: Bongbong Marcos sweeps to landslide victory, in reversal of family’s fortunes

  • An unofficial tally showed Marcos Jnr with 29.9 million votes, double that of rival Leni Robredo, with 93.8 per cent of the eligible ballots counted
  • The triumph by the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos shows how the family has benefited from recent efforts to remake their image

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Most of the counted votes as at 10.02pm came from areas where Marcos Jnr and his running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio are viewed as having strong support. Photo: Reuters
Raissa Roblesin ManilaandAgencies
Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, the son of the Philippines’ late dictator, clinched a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election on Monday, a stunning result following a day of voting that was marred by technical glitches and reports of violence.
An unofficial tally showed he had surpassed the 27.5 million votes needed for a majority, marking a dramatic about-turn in the fortunes of his family, a political clan that has been synonymous with kleptocracy in Southeast Asia for decades.

“I hope you won’t get tired of trusting us,” Marcos Jnr told supporters in remarks streamed on Facebook, one of the digital platforms at the core of his political strategy. “We have plenty of things to do,” he said, adding “an endeavour as large as this does not involve one person”.

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Philippine election: Bongbong Marcos’ supporters celebrate landslide presidential victory

Philippine election: Bongbong Marcos’ supporters celebrate landslide presidential victory
Marcos Jnr had 29.9 million votes, double that of Leni Robredo, the vice-president, with 93.8 per cent of the eligible ballots counted, according to the unofficial Commission on Elections (Comelac) tally. Turnout was about 80 per cent. An official result is expected around the end of the month.
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The senior Marcos was ousted by a “people power” revolution in 1986 following two decades during which he was accused of egregious human rights abuses and the plundering of more than US$10 billion.

Marcos Jnr, however, has benefited from the family’s recent efforts to remake their image, and what some observers have described as an extensive social media disinformation campaign aimed at expunging its notoriety.
Leni Robredo urged her supporters to ‘listen’ to the voice of the people. Photo: Office of the Vice President via AP
Leni Robredo urged her supporters to ‘listen’ to the voice of the people. Photo: Office of the Vice President via AP

Robredo on Tuesday urged supporters to “listen” to the voice of the people. The 57-year-old human rights lawyer and economist said she knew many of her supporters were dismayed and could not accept the numbers coming out of the unofficial account.

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