The world in four elections: the Ides of May and the Philippines

The Special Battalion Museum at Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines, contains a signed pair of shoes once owned by Imelda Marcos. Photo: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

People normally speak about the Ides of March but in the Roman calendar, every month had an Ides, which is to say a division point between the first and second half. In March, May, July, and October, the Ides are on the 15th day, but in every other month, they are on the 13th day.

This time round though, the Ides of May should be the ninth day of the month. That’s the day the Philippines goes to the polls to replace President Rodrigo Duterte, who is term-limited.

The next big day in May, politically, is May 15, when Lebanon goes to the polls.

On May 21, there is the Australian election.

On May 29, Colombia has its date with the ballot box.

Each of these dates is significant in its own way but the Philippines marks a particular wave of cha…