Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appeared to lead early vote tallies in the Philippine 2022 presidential election on Monday with 81.8 percent of eligible ballots counted, the Manila-based news website Rappler reported.
Marcos, Jr. received “26,313,353 votes as of 12:12 am Tuesday, May 10, with 81.80% of precincts reporting. His closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, got 12,554,852 votes,” Rappler reported citing unofficial figures from the Philippines Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
Marcos, Jr. thanked his supporters just after 11:00 pm local time on May 9 in Manila for their votes in his favor during the Philippine 2022 presidential election day, which lasted from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on May 9.
“We know that the count is not yet done, is not yet over, we still need to be on guard,” Marcos said in comments to reporters during his first public speech since polling booths closed four hours earlier.
“Even if the counting is not yet over, I could not wait to thank all of you,” he said during a makeshift press conference set up inside his campaign headquarters in Manila.
“I want to thank you for all that you have done for us. There are thousands of you out there: volunteers, parallel groups, political leaders that have … that cast their lot with us, because of their belief in our message of unity, because of their belief in the candidate, in the Marcos-Duterte tandem,” the politician added.
The 2022 Philippine presidential election was part of a broader general election in the country on May 9 that saw roughly 65 million voters elect thousands of national and regional political posts, including legislators, governors, municipal mayors, and district councilors.
COMELEC’s early presidential vote count just after midnight on May 10 indicated Marcos Jr. would requite his 2016 loss to Robredo in a Philippine vice-presidential election she won by a narrow margin of 200,000 votes.
“The two have a bitter rivalry and embody a political chasm that has existed more than four decades, with Robredo allied with the movement that toppled the elder Marcos,” Reuters observed on May 9. The news agency referred to the late Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos, whom many observers have labeled a “dictator” for his autocratic rule of the country from 1965 to 1986.
“Marcos, Jr has served as a governor, congressman and senator, his sister, Imee, is currently a senator and mother Imelda, the influential power-broker and widow of the late dictator, served four terms in the House of Representatives,” Reuters noted of the Philippine political dynasty on Monday.
Marcos, Jr. teamed up with a more recently established political clan in the Philippines, that of current Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, during his presidential campaign. Marcos, Jr.’s team secured the support of President Duterte’s daughter, Sara, when she announced her bid for the Philippine vice presidency in November 2021. Though the posts of president and vice president are voted on separately in the Philippines, both Marcos, Jr. and Sara Duterte were the official nominees (for president and vice president, respectively) of the Philippine political party Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) in the 2022 Philippine general election. The PFP’s united backing of the duo meant their campaigns formed an unofficial “tandem,” as Marcos, Jr. referred to it on May 9.
Reuters predicted on Monday that Marcos, Jr.’s likely new presidency would “provide continuity from outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose ruthless, strongman approach proved popular and helped him to consolidate power rapidly.”
Sara Duterte, who served as the mayor of Davao City from 2010 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2022, also led early vote tallies for the office of the Philippine Vice Presidency on May 9.
“As of 7:17 p.m. Monday [May 9], 926,748 votes were tallied in favor of Duterte-Carpio,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on May 10.
“She is followed by Senator Francis Pangilinan, who so far garnered 262,613 votes based on the Comelec transparency server,” the newspaper noted.
COMELEC’s official count of votes in the 2022 Philippine presidential election was scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. local time on May 10, with the commission expected to formally announce a winner in subsequent days.
Members of the Philippine public criticized COMELEC on Monday for its alleged failure to ensure the proper function of hundreds of its voting machines nationwide during the general election earlier that day.
“A high turnout caused long queues, exacerbated in some areas by malfunctions in 533 of the 106,000 counting machines being used, prompting concerns from candidates that COMELEC sought to assuage,” Reuters reported.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.