Battle to succeed Aquino begins as Philippines’ turbulent election season kicks off

The Philippines’ election season kicked off on Monday with politicians registering for thousands of posts, launching a typically raucous and deadly seven months of campaigning in a famously chaotic democracy.

A successor to President Benigno Aquino will be chosen in the six-yearly polls, with the front runners a savvy politician fighting corruption charges, the adopted daughter of a movie star and a low-key stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party.

Aquino, who has won international plaudits for tackling systemic corruption and his solid economic stewardship, is imploring voters to choose longtime ally Mar Roxas to continue his “straight path” style of governance.

“This is a campaign to continue the straight path, a campaign to make our hopes possible, a campaign that will continue the heroic story of the Filipino people,” Aquino said at a rally to announce the Liberal Party's Senate ticket.

The start of a week-long registration process began on Monday for more than 18,000 positions up for grabs - from the presidency down to village captain level - in the May elections.