Philippines election: Bongbong Marcos poised to win presidency

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, the son of a former Philippines’ dictator, has asked to be judged on his actions not his ancestors after dominating the country’s presidential election.

With more than 98% of an initial count completed, the 64-year-old senator has a seemingly unassailable lead with double the votes of his nearest rival.

An official result is expected later.

A victory would seal a remarkable return to power for the Marcos family, who fled into exile 36 years ago.

Mr Marcos’ father led the country from 1965 until 1986, imposing martial law and presiding over a period of widespread human rights abuses, corruption and poverty.

A mass uprising in 1986 saw millions of people take to the streets and the Marcos family – including a 28-year-old Bongbong – fled the country for Hawaii.

The long-time politician, who returned to the Philippines in 1991, has sought to paint his father’s presidency as a golden age and polls suggest he is popular among the young.

Critics allege his election campaign was fuelled by a misinformation campaign on social media, which he denies.

“Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” Mr Marcos said in a statement via his spokesman on Tuesday. “It is [my] promise to be a president for all Filipinos,” he added.

Turnout on voting day was high and previous elections in the country have largely been ruled to be fair. But the BBC’s Howard Johnson in Manila says there are lingering questions about broken machines at polling stations and videos allegedly showing vote buying.

Opinion polls in the run-up to the election put Mr Marcos Jr ahead of his nearest rival, Leni Robredo, by dozens of percentage points.

Critics say this was the result of Mr Marcos Jr consistently painting his father’s rule as a prosperous time, whitewashing a period of rampant corruption and widespread poverty.

Ferdinand Marcos Sr, who died in 1989, and his wife Imelda stole an estimated $10bn (£8.1bn) from the Philippines’ coffers, becoming infamous examples of public graft.

As the vote count showed the scale of Mr Marcos’ lead, Ms Robredo told supporters to continue their fight for truth and dismantle “the structures of lies”.