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Gunmen stormed a village early Saturday in the southern Philippines, leaving one dead and a local official wounded as village election- related violence continued there. Baidito Macalalay was killed while his family member, village councilor Abdillah Macalalay was wounded when unknown gunmen strafed their home at around 03:30 a.m. local time in the village of Salat, President Roxas township in North Cotabato province, said regional police spokesman Chief Inspector Alexis Yap, adding that the attackers immediately fled after firing their guns. The Philippines, composed of at least 42,000 villages, is preparing for its local village polls to be held on Oct. 25 where over 300,000 positions for village council heads are up for grabs. Village councils are the smallest administrative divisions of the country. Elections in the Philippines, whether for local or national positions, are repeatedly marred by political violence, fraud and disenfranchisement, with warlords and more than one million loose firearms often playing roles in election results. |
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