Ferdinand Marcos Jr was headed for a stunning victory in the Philippines’ presidential election on Monday with double the votes of his nearest rival, putting the son of the notorious late dictator on the cusp of a historic political fightback.

An unofficial tally by the election commission showed Marcos, 64, was close to passing the required 27.5 million votes to secure a majority in a presidential election for the first time since the end of his father’s 1965-1986 rule.

The count makes almost certain a previously unthinkable return to power of the Marcos family, 36 years after its humiliating retreat into exile after being toppled in a “people power” uprising.

“I hope you won’t get tired of trusting us,” Marcos told supporters in remarks streamed on Facebook, a platform at the heart of his campaign strategy. “We have plenty of things to do,” he said, adding “an endeavour as large as this does not involve one person”.

Marcos Jr had 26.3 million votes, more than double the 12.5 million votes for Leni Robredo, the vice-president, with 81.8 per cent of the eligible ballots counted, according to the unofficial Commission on Elections (COMELEC) tally.

Despite its fall from grace, the Marcos family returned from exile in the 1990s and has since been a powerful force in politics, retaining its influence with vast wealth and far-reaching connections.

Marcos Jr has served as a governor, congressman and senator, his sister, Imee, is currently a senator and mother Imelda, the influential power-broker and widow of the late dictator, served four terms in the House of Representatives.

As the votes poured in, supporters gathered outside the Marcos campaign headquarters, jumping, waving flags and chanting “Marcos, Marcos, Marcos” ecstatically.

“We are very happy because of his wide lead... unity really prevailed,” said Melai Ilagan, 20. “Bongbong Marcos’s wish that we all unite is becoming a reality.”

The early count indicates Marcos will avenge his loss to Robredo in the 2016 vice-presidential election, a narrow defeat by just 200,000 votes that he sought unsuccessfully to overturn.

The two have a bitter rivalry and embody a political chasm that has existed more than four decades.

About 65 million Filipinos were eligible to cast ballots to decide on the successor to Duterte after six years in power, plus thousands of other posts.