Marcos victory prompts protests
MANILA, Philippines — Angry young voters gathered in the Philippines on Tuesday to protest Ferdinand Marcos
Jr., the son and namesake of the former dictator, who clinched a landslide victory this week in one of the most divisive presidential elections in the country’s recent history.
Multiple election observers said they had received thousands of reports of election-related anomalies since the vote Monday. Malfunctioning voting machines were one of the biggest concerns, with VoteReportPH, an election watchdog, saying the breakdowns had “severely impaired this electoral process.”
On Tuesday, Leni Robredo, Marcos’ closest rival in the race and the country’s vice president, said her team was looking into reports of voter fraud. But every opinion poll before the election had predicted Marcos would win by a huge margin, and his lead by Tuesday was so overwhelming that reports of fraud and malfunctioning machines were unlikely to sway the result.
Marcos, known by his childhood nickname, “Bongbong,” had racked up nearly 31 million votes by 4:30 p.m., according to a preliminary tally. That was more than double the number of votes Robredo had. Voter turnout was around 80 percent, an election official said Tuesday.
During his campaign, Marcos appealed to a public disillusioned with democracy in the Philippines, a country of 110 million. Yet for many Filipinos, the Marcos family name remains a byword for excess and greed, and a painful reminder of the atrocities committed by the father.
Marcos’ 92-year-old mother, Imelda Marcos, was sentenced to up to 11 years in 2018 for creating private foundations to hide her unexplained wealth, but she remains free. She posted bail, and her case is under appeal by the Supreme Court. Critics fear Marcos could use the presidency to scrap that case and other outstanding cases against the family.
Dozens of mostly young voters gathered in a park across from the elections commission building Tuesday morning to protest the election results. Riot police stood watch over the demonstrations.
Vote counting could continue through the end of the week. By Tuesday afternoon, Marcos had yet to deliver a victory speech. But in a statement, Victor Rodriguez, Marcos’ spokesperson, said his “unassailable lead” meant “the Filipino people have spoken decisively.”