Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte wins mayoral election from jail cell at The Hague
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has won a mayoral election in his home city by a landslide, unimpeded by his detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of murder as a crime against humanity.
With over 60 per cent of returns in, Duterte had built an insurmountable lead of 405,000 votes to 49,000 for his nearest competitor, results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) released by local media showed.
In an unofficial tally that had 80 per cent of votes counted, Duterte was winning the Davao mayoral contest with eight times more votes than his nearest rival.
He was brought to The Hague in March over his bloody "war on drugs" that killed thousands of people.
The victory during nationwide midterm elections is testament to the 80-year-old's enduring influence in the southern city, owing to his reputation as a crime-buster that earned him the nicknames "Duterte Harry" and "the Punisher".
Duterte's old Facebook account was flooded with congratulatory messages from supporters, with some calling for his return to serve his people.
"Congratulations, Tatay (father) D! Let's bring him home," read one of the comments.
Duterte could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
His surprise arrest by Philippine police at the request of the ICC caused outrage among his army of supporters, who called it a kidnapping at the behest of a foreign court.
He has defended the anti-drugs crackdown and his legal team says his arrest was unlawful.
The ICC maintains it has jurisdiction to prosecute alleged crimes committed before Duterte withdrew the Philippines from its founding treaty in 2019.
Despite the ICC's case also including alleged killings of criminal suspects by a "death squad" in Davao while Duterte was mayor — which he has denied — analysts have said his arrest has only hardened support for him and his family, in Davao and beyond.
The former president's two sons were also set to win posts on Monday, one re-elected congressman and the other winning the contest for Davao vice-mayor and likely to serve in his father's absence.
The family's political resilience and dominance in Davao could prove pivotal as Duterte's popular daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, faces an impeachment trial that could see her banned from politics for life if convicted, killing off any hopes of a presidential run.
Asked on Monday about her father's likely victory, she said "he will not be here, our expectation is the vice mayor (Sebastian) will be the acting mayor".
But she added that plans would be made for him to be sworn in as mayor.
"The ICC lawyer said once we get proclamation papers, we will discuss how he can take oath," she said.
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