Village elections across the Philippines were relatively peaceful on Monday but voting in some rural areas was marred by violence, including two killings, shootouts and the burning of a voting center, officials said. Troops and police went on full security alert to avert more violence after 22 candidates and supporters died in pre-election violence, mostly shootouts, over the past month. In the latest violence, the husband of a candidate for village chairman was shot and killed on Monday by suspected political rivals in Jaro town in central Leyte Province. Violence and fraud have long been an unsettling hallmark of Philippine elections.—AP
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