MANILA — Tens of millions of Filipinos have voted in the country’s midterm elections, which will select half the 24-strong Senate, all 317 members of the House of Representatives and thousands of local municipal leaders and legislators.
Polls have just closed, at 7 p.m. local time, and, thanks to automated counting, many unofficial returns are expected within a few hours. Official declarations are due in a week, after candidates have had a chance to challenge the outcome.
We will bring you the results as they come and analysis on what they mean for one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia. Some of our recent coverage of the campaign, the economy and former President Rodrigo Duterte’s detention by the International Criminal Court are at the bottom:
All times are local to the Philippines.
7 p.m. Polls have now closed, although voters still in line at polling stations will be allowed to cast their ballots.
6:50 p.m. Political analyst Richard Heydarian described these midterm elections as “unprecedented.”
“You obviously have the escalating tensions between the House of Duterte and the House of Marcos. We have had nothing like it in recent memory,” he told Nikkei Asia.
He suggested that pro-Duterte candidates will benefit from bloc voting and endorsements, alluding to the practice of religious groups in the Philippines. Over 2.8 million Filipinos in 2020 identified themselves as members of the Iglesia ni Cristo, a Christian sect popular in the fiercely Catholic nation whose endorsement is keenly sought after by candidates.
Besides that, Heydarian noted the shadow of the U.S.-China rivalry. The Philippines is a treaty ally of Washington, and shares concerns with China’s growing influence in the region.
Philippine security officials told the public to be w of foreign interference in this year’s elections, alluding to China’s possible role.
“The Americans are clearly invested in the Marcos Jr. administration, while the Chinese are gung-ho on getting the Dutertes back to power,” Heydarian said.
On top of that, Vice President Sara Duterte’s crisis, of whether she gets convicted by senators in an upcoming impeachment trial, hangs in the balance too.
“If the Dutertes survive this, they can turn it around into a massive comeback story, not too different from what the Americans experienced in the case of the second Trump presidency not long ago,” he added.
6:40 p.m. Filipinos aged under 40 comprise more than half the electorate, according to the elections commission.
The nation’s median age was 25 in 2023, the second-youngest in ASEAN after Laos, according to a report by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office.
This supports the assessment of Philippine economic analysts that the so-called demographic dividend is one of the country’s key growth drivers.
6:30 p.m. rge Garcia, chair of the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec), has just given an update on when he is expecting results. Remember, polls close at 7 p.m., in 30 minutes.
“Before 10 o’clock, we are expecting that most of the precincts will have their results sent already,” he told the media. “Our earliest expectation is actually 8:30.”
Results sent to the Comelec should be uploaded to the central, public facing, server automatically and almost immediately. These are still unofficial — candidates have about a week to contest the returns.
6:20 p.m. Filipinos vote in cramped polling stations, which are often located at public schools. At virtually all locations only a folder, at most, ensures that voters’ choices are protected from onlookers.
They need to shade the ballots for a maximum of 12 senators, a party-list group, a district representative for the House, a governor and his/her deputy for those registered to vote in the countryside, or a mayor and deputy for those living in urban areas, and local councilors.
Exacerbating conditions for voters are soaring temperatures across the country, which is in the middle of the dry season.
To guard against any untoward incidents such as violence, police and sometimes the milit are deployed to areas deemed to be “hotspots” by the government.
6:10 p.m. Most eyes will be on the Senate election because the upper chamber of Congress will take the spotlight in July when it conducts the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, who was impeached by the House in Febru on an array of charges, including allegedly plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Analysts see the elections as a proxy battle between the Marcos and Duterte families. In addition to Sara Duterte facing trial, her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is being detained by the International Criminal Court in The Netherlands, accused of crimes against humanity in relation to his war on drugs when president, and, before that, as mayor of Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao.
Rodrigo Duterte is running to become mayor of Davao City again.
6 p.m. The Philippines’ bicameral Congress is modelled on the U.S., with a House of Representatives and Senate. All House members are elected every three years while Senators serve for six years with half being elected in the midterms and half at the same time as the president.
In the House, district representatives are allocated 254 of the 317 seats. The remaining 63 seats are filled by so-called party list members, who represent minorities and groups considered marginalized.
The Senate election is a nationwide contest with all the candidates listed on the ballot paper. The 12 who receive the most votes are elected. There are 66 Senate candidates this year.
House members are limited to serving three consecutive three-year terms. Senators can serve two six-year terms. All members of Congress can run for office again after taking a break for one term.
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Here is some of our recent coverage:
In Philippines election, personality trumps policy as economic storm brews
Philippine Q1 GDP misses forecasts as Trump trade war starts to bite
Duterte family retains strong support in Davao City heartland
Trump policies threaten to shake foundation of shock-resistant Philippine peso
Duterte’s ICC detention, disinformation loom large in Philippine midterms
Philippine central bank cuts rates in wake of Trump tariff flip-flops
‘Martyr’ Duterte seeks to capture the hearts of the Philippine public
Ex-Philippine President Duterte faces lengthy legal battle at ICC
