Photo Credit: AP
Philippine voters streamed to polling stations on Monday, with prospects high of a once-unthinkable return to power for the Marcos family, 36 years after strongman Ferdinand Marcos wasousted in a "people power" uprising.
The presidential election pits Vice President Leni Robredo against former senator and congressman Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the dictator whose two decade rule ended in a public revolt and his family's humiliating retreat into exile.
Around 18,000 posts, from the vice presidency, seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives to mayors, governors and councillors are also up for grabs.
Opinion polls put Marcos, popularly known as "Bongbong", leading his rival by over 30 percentage points in the presidential race, having topped every poll this year. That means Robredo will need a late surge or low turnout if she is to win.
Turnout appeared high, election officials said, which would favour Marcos. The officials said they saw no major disruptions, although police were investigating the killing of three people near a polling station.
Voting started at 6 a.m. (2200 GMT Sunday) and is scheduled to close at 7 p.m. (1100 GMT), with polling stations operating longer than usual because of COVID-19 precautions.
An unofficial vote count could give an indication of the winner within hours of the close.
Marcos, 64, cast his ballot in his home province of Ilocos Norte, surrounded by bodyguards and accompanied by family members, including his son who is running for congress.
Asked by a reporter how voting was going, he said: "It was fine", before leaving the polling station.
Marcos has presented no real policy platform but his presidency is expected to provide continuity from outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose ruthless, strongman approach proved popular and helped him to consolidate power rapidly.
His daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, is tipped to win the vice presidency. Although the president and vice president are elected separately, Marcos and Duterte-Carpio are aligned.
Election Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said he was "overwhelmed' by the number of voters flocking to polling centres despite the pandemic threat.
The elections commission noted minor voting delays in some precincts, but said these were isolated.
