Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the former Philippines dictator, appeared to win the country’s presidential election, with a commanding vote margin that heralded a remarkable revival for a family once forced into exile.

It is a historic win nearly four decades after Filipinos booted out his family out of power, ending a well-oiled campaign that sought to bury the past, rally for unity, and evade scrutiny.

Mr. Marcos has more than 15 million votes ahead of his top presidential rival, Leni Robredo. In 2016, Mr. Marcos lost to Leni Robredo to be come as vice-president of the country.

He will succeed the strongman Rodrigo Duterte, winning without his outright support. The President’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, was Marcos Jr.’s running mate, getting 30,310,743 votes or 61.08%, as of 4:06 am on Tuesday.

Marcos will lead the Philippines for the next six years, and will have to steer the country into economic recovery after a global pandemic. He is now the country’s chief diplomat, who flip-flopped on standing with Ukraine amid a Russian invasion that threatens security in the whole of Europe.