Manila, Philippines (CNN) -- Sen. Benigno Aquino III, the son of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, held the lead Monday as votes were counted to determine the next president of the Philippines, according to partial and unofficial returns.
Aquino had 35 percent of the vote compared with 27 percent for his nearest rival, former President Joseph Estrada, according to results from PPCRV, a church-based watchdog organization that works in conjunction with the country's electoral commission.
It was not immediately clear how many of the total votes had been counted to yield those partial results, and the figures could change as more ballots are tallied.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) Monday after crowds flocked to polling stations in the country's first automated national elections.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/10/philippines.election/index.html
