Imelda Marcos Withdraws From Philippine Race
Former first lady Imelda Marcos withdrew today from next month’s presidential election, saying she wanted to help prevent the campaign from becoming emotional and violent.
The wife of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos has lagged far behind in popularity polls, with recent surveys giving her about 2% of the vote in the scheduled May 11 election.
In a statement outside a courthouse in metropolitan Manila, Marcos said she was pulling out of the race “to save the Filipino people from the ultimate injustice of a possible bloody election.”
Although campaigning for the election has been more peaceful than for past ones, some fear that violence and fraud during the vote would increase political instability and damage the country’s economic recovery.
Marcos had been one of 11 candidates vying to become president. The leading candidate, current Vice President Joseph Estrada, heads recent opinion surveys with a 30% favorable rating.
Marcos campaigned while on bail pending an appeal of a sentence of up to 12 years for graft.
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