The Philippines has elected a new president. The preliminary, unofficial results show that Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos won in a landslide vote, just as the pre-election polls predicted.

The 64-year-old former senator, governor and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. surged to an early lead, which only grew throughout the night. Unofficially, Marcos tallied some 30.1 million votes, more than doubling his closest rival vice-president Leni Robredo’s 14.3 million.

Late monday night Marcos, Jr. addressed his supporters, and the nation, saying, "To all of those who’ve been with us in this long and sometimes difficult journey for the last six months, I want to thank you for all that you have done for us. There are thousands out there, volunteers, parallel groups, political leaders that have cast their lot with us. Because of their belief in our message of unity, because of their belief in the candidates. Sa tambalan Marcos atsaka Duterte. Napaka laking pasalamat namin sa inyong lahat."

Marcos ran on a theme of national unity, and a promise to prioritize his country’s economic woes that have only grown since the pandemic. His opponents unsuccessfully tried to weigh him down with reminders of the corruption, human rights abuses and ill-gotten wealth charges lodged against his father’s regime. His rival robredo pledged to continue that movement in an early morning address of her own.

"Walang nasayang. Hindi tayo nabigo. Pinakamahalaga hindi tayo tapos, nagsisimula palang tayo. May landas naibukas. At hindi eto sasara kasabay ng mga presinto," she said.

Marcos and running mate Sara Duterte Carpio, the daughter of outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte, will be sworn in for a six-year term on June 30.