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Ferdinand Marcos Jr
The Philippines woke to a new but familiar political dawn on Tuesday, after an election triumph by Ferdinand Marcos Jr paved the way for a once unimaginable return to the country’s highest office for its most notorious political dynasty.
Marcos, better known as “Bongbong”, trounced bitter rival Leni Robredo to become the first candidate in recent history to win a Philippines presidential election majority, marking a stunning comeback by the son and namesake of an ousted dictator that has been decades in the making.
Marcos fled into exile in Hawaii with his family during a 1986 “people power” uprising that ended his father’s autocratic 20-year rule, and has served in congress and the senate since his return to the Philippines in 1991.
Marcos’s runaway victory in Monday’s election now looks certain with 96% of the eligible ballots counted in an unofficial tally, showing he has more than 30 million votes, double that of Robredo.
An official result is expected around the end of the month.
“There are thousands of you out there, volunteers, parallel groups, political leaders that have cast their lot with us because of our belief in our message of unity,” Marcos said in a statementstreamed on Facebook, standing beside a national flag.
Though Marcos, 64, campaigned on a platform of unity, political analysts say his presidency is unlikely to foster that, despite the margin of victory. (Reuters)
