Millions of Filipinos voted on Monday to choose a new president in an election pitting the son of the Philippines’ late strongman against a liberal human rights lawyer.
Polls closed across the Southeast Asian nation at 7pm (11:00 GMT), with a record-breaking 67 million people registered to cast their ballots. There will be no second round.
Elections Commissioner George Garcia told reporters early Monday that he expected a huge turnout.
“It’s a historic election, a very memorable one, simply because we’d be electing, at least in a pandemic situation, a new president and that’s why we’re expecting a high turnout of voters,” he said before the polls opened.
Polls officially closed at 7pm, but election authorities said those waiting in line would be allowed to vote after the deadline.
The counting of ballots was supposed to begin right away, but unconfirmed reports on social media suggest that the election had been marred by delays and possible discrepancies.
Voting stations across the Philippines have reportedly been unable or slow to scan paper ballots, leading some Filipinos to fear that their votes will not be counted after they were told to leave them with officials. Others allege that vote-buying, manipulation and even violence have been used to sway voters.
