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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Philippine presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, delivers a speech throughout a marketing campaign rally in Lipa, Batangas province, Philippines, April 20, 2022. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
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By Enrico Dela Cruz
MANILA (Reuters) – Polls opened within the Philippines on Monday within the nation’s most divisive presidential election in many years, with the prospect of a once-unthinkable return to rule of the Marcos household, 36 years after they have been toppled in a “individuals energy” rebellion.
The election pits Vice President Leni Robredo towards former senator and congressman Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of a dictator whose two decade rule led to a public revolt and his household’s humiliating retreat into exile.
Opinion polls put Marcos, popularly often called “Bongbong”, main his rival by over 30 proportion factors, having topped each ballot this 12 months. Which means Robredo will want a late surge or low turnout if she is to win the presidency.
Voters began lining up lengthy earlier than polls opened at 6 a.m. (2200 GMT Sunday), with polling stations as a result of function for longer than common due to COVID-19 precautions.
Polls shut at 7 p.m. and an unofficial vote depend may give a sign of the winner inside hours.
Marcos, 64, has offered no actual coverage platform however his presidency is predicted to supply continuity from outgoing chief Rodrigo Duterte, whose ruthless, strongman method proved in style and helped him to consolidate energy quickly.
Robredo, 57, a former human rights lawyer and staunch liberal, has pledged to enhance training and welfare, struggle poverty and enhance market competitors if elected.
The Fee on Elections (Comelec) stated on Monday it has not obtained studies of any main points on the bottom to this point, however there have been minor delays to voting in some precincts within the southern provinces of Cotabato and Marawi.
“Our assumption is every little thing has been going properly as a result of there are not any untoward and damaging studies to this point,” Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco instructed a media briefing.
Marcos forged his poll in his house province of Ilocos Norte, and solely briefly spoke to journalists on his means out.
‘VICTORY OF UNITY’
Marcos is buoyed by the assist of many youthful Filipinos born after the 1986 revolution, having launched an enormous social media offensive in an upbeat marketing campaign that has carried undertones of historic revisionism.
His supporters and social media influencers have dismissed narratives of plunder, cronyism and brutality beneath the martial legislation of his late father as lies peddled by opponents, presenting what his critics say is a special model of historical past. The Marcos camp has denied working misinformation campaigns.
Regardless of its fall from grace, the Marcos household returned from exile within the Nineteen Nineties and has since been a strong pressure in Philippine politics, retaining its affect with huge wealth and far-reaching connections.
The vote additionally presents a possibility for Marcos to avenge his loss to Robredo within the 2016 vice presidential election, a slim defeat by simply 200,000 votes that he sought unsuccessfully to overturn.
Marcos has steered away from debates and has campaigned on a message of optimism and unity, on Saturday telling lots of of hundreds of supporters that he dreamed of a “victory of unity of the whole Philippines”.
Robredo has promised supporters higher training, healthcare and public providers if elected.
A game-changer within the election might be vice presidential working mate Sara Duterte-Carpio, the incumbent president’s in style daughter, who may switch a few of her father’s enormous assist to Marcos. The president has not endorsed any candidate.
About 65 million Filipinos are eligible to vote to resolve on a successor to Duterte after his six years in energy.
Additionally up for grabs are about 18,000 posts, from seats within the senate and congress to mayors, governors and councillors.
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