Asia | Blood feuds

The outcome of the Philippines’ election is not as certain as it looks

An absolute majority may not be enough for Ferdinand Marcos Jr to win the presidency

Fans, Ferdinand
|MANILA

MISSING FROM the official start of campaigning, on February 8th, were the song-and-dance performances that usually signal the launch of Philippine elections. Missing too was any sense of suspense. Polls put Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos so far ahead of other candidates for president that he seems certain to win the vote on May 9th. Opinion surveys in December and January both gave him well over half the total vote. Why waste good money on razzmatazz?

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Blood feuds”

When the ride ends

From the February 12th 2022 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Asia

A Virginia Class submarine

AUKUS enters its fifth year. How is the pact faring?

It has weathered two big political changes. What about Donald Trump’s return?

Japanese and American soldier placing flags before an official gathering

Joe Biden’s mixed legacy on Japan

Security co-operation flourished, but a scuppered steel deal leaves a sour taste


A worker supervises the disposal of slag from nickel ore processing in a nickel factory in Sorowako, Indonesia

Indonesia nearly has a monopoly on nickel. What next?

Prabowo Subianto, the new president, wants to create an electric car supply chain


What a 472-year-old corpse reveals about India

St Francis Xavier is both venerated and despised

Pakistan’s army puts a former intelligence chief on trial

General Faiz Hameed is an ally of Imran Khan, who is currently behind bars

By resisting arrest, South Korea’s president challenges democracy

His attempt to impose martial law failed. But Yoon Suk Yeol is still causing trouble