The Mercury

Marcos in the lead in presidenti­al poll

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FERDINAND Marcos jr yesterday retained his wide lead in the tally of votes in the Philippine­s presidenti­al election with 66.1% of eligible ballots counted, unofficial data from the poll body showed.

Marcos – the son and namesake of the notorious late dictator who ruled the country for 20 years – had 21.7 million votes, more than double the 10.3 million of rival Leni Robredo, an unofficial count by the poll body showed. The big early lead raises the prospect of a once unthinkabl­e return to rule of the Marcos family, 36 years after its patriarch’s overthrow in a “people power” revolution and his family’s humiliatin­g retreat into exile.

Opinion polls showed Marcos, a former senator and congressma­n, with a huge advantage over Robredo, allied with the movement that toppled the Marcos dictatorsh­ip in 1986. Marcos has presented no real policy platform but his presidency is expected to provide continuity from outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose strongman approach proved popular.

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