Ferdinand Marcos Junior, son of the late dictator of the same name, won a landslide presidential victory in the Philippines on Tuesday May 9, reinstalling his family clan at the top of power 36 years after the popular revolt which had driven him out.
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According to results covering more than 90% of the constituencies, Marcos Junior, nicknamed “bongbong“, obtained nearly 30 million votes, or about twice as much as her main rival, outgoing vice-president Leni Robredo, an impossible lead to catch up. It was enough for him, during this ballot in a single round, to be the one of the ten candidates who obtained the most votes to win.
In remarks at dawn on Tuesday from his campaign headquarters in Manila, “bongbong“, 64, refrained from proclaiming his victory, contenting himself with thanking his supporters for their months of “sacrifices and work“. “Let’s wait until it’s very clear, until the count reaches 100% of the votes, and then we can celebrate“, he said. In the capital, his euphoric supporters were launching fireworks and roaming the streets waving Filipino flags.
67 million voters
About 67 million Filipinos were called to the polls for these general elections, during which the vice-president was also to be designated as well as the deputies, half of the senators, the provincial governors and thousands of other local elected officials. Marcos Junior’s triumph comes after an election campaign marked by torrents of disinformation and the unwavering support of incumbent authoritarian President Rodrigo Duterte, whose popularity remains very high.
For years, pro-Marcos Junior accounts have invaded social networks, passing off to young Filipinos the twenty years of his father’s regime (1965-1986) as a golden era of peace and prosperity for the Philippines. And ignoring the tens of thousands of opponents arrested, tortured or killed, or even the billions of dollars stolen by the Marcos clan from the coffers of the country for their personal enrichment. The regime had been overthrown in 1986 by a huge popular revolt, and the Marcos family had gone into exile in the United States, before returning to the country to gradually rebuild a powerful network of political support.