Unofficial results show president’s allies have won nine key upper house seats, traditionally a bulwark against his controversial policies

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies were poised for victory in midterm polls, according to unofficial results on Tuesday, signalling firm approval of his policies and clearing a path for his most controversial plans.

Duterte’s deadly drug war has drawn international censure, but is central to the populist appeal that has buoyed his remarkable popularity among Filipinos since taking the presidency in 2016.

In Monday’s vote, administration loyalist candidates for the Senate were headed for a resounding election win, according to data released by the PPCRV, a Catholic-run poll monitor accredited by the government to tally votes.

With 94% of ballots counted early on Tuesday, Duterte allies were on track to take nine of 12 open seats in the upper house, which has been a bulwark against some of the president’s most controversial proposals.

Rodrigo Duterte hopes to gain control of Senate in Philippines mid-terms Read more

Official, complete results from the nation’s elections commission are expected in the coming days.

Historically, the nation’s 24 senators – who serve six-year terms – have had a reputation for being more independent-minded than the lower house.

As part of his drug crackdown that has killed more than 5,000 people, Duterte has pledged to bring back the death penalty and lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12.

The Philippines outlawed capital punishment in 1987, reinstated it six years later and then abolished it again in 2006.

He also promised to rewrite the nation’s constitution to create a federal republic where regions would be given more power to tackle the nation’s deep rooted poverty.

However, opponents see those plans as an effort to extend his hold on power or weaken the nation’s democratic institutions.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Detained Philippine senator Leila De Lima shows the indelible ink mark on her finger after voting. Photograph: Mark R Cristino/EPA

“This election just gave Duterte carte blanche to push his brand of governance to its logical conclusion: complete transformation of the nation’s political system,” analyst Richard Heydarian told AFP.

More than 18,000 positions were at stake in the vote, primarily local posts, but also half the Senate and nearly 300 seats in the lower House of Representatives.

The polls saw isolated outbursts of violence, which is not unusual in the Philippines’ frequently bloody competition for elected seats.

At least 20 people were killed and 24 wounded in election-related violence in the run-up to the vote, according to an official count.

The military said nine people were shot and wounded Monday during a confrontation at a polling station on the southern island of Jolo, which is home to insurgents and powerful local clans.

Turnout was steady throughout the day and voters across the country flooded social media with images of their ink-stained fingernails, which are daubed blue as a protection against voter fraud.

“I voted for many of the candidates endorsed by President Duterte because his government is doing its job,” voter Myrna Cruz, 51, told AFP in Manila.

“I support their programmes, including the anti-drug campaign ... but I wish the bloodshed would stop,” she added, echoing many Filipinos’ nuanced backing of the crackdown.