Philippine presidential election: Ferdinand Marcos Jr takes early lead

An unofficial vote count on Monday in the Philippines presidential election showed Ferdinand Marcos Jr taking an early lead.

Based on 3.2% of election returns, Marcos had 958,219 votes votes, followed by Leni Robredo at 406,608, according to the election body. It also showed Marcos's running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio with a big early lead in the vice presidential contest.

Voter turnout encouraging

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 was ousted 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, were also up for grabs.

The window for casting ballots officially closed at 7pm (1100 GMT) having opened 13 hours earlier, but election authorities said turnout appeared to have been high, and those still in line would still be allowed to vote after the deadline.

“Rest assured, those being reported by media are isolated cases and will not affect the integrity of our elections,” commissioner Marlon Casquejo told a news briefing.