Best-of-three coin toss decides Philippines town's new mayor

Picking a town's new mayor with a coin toss seems unorthodox, but it's actually totally legal in the Philippines.

Two candidates each got exactly 3,495 votes in a municipal election in the town of Araceli, Palawan, Thursday night. Rather than hold a run-off vote, the winner was picked by the "drawing of lots". The law says the winner is the one "favoured by luck".

In this case, the elections officer tossed a coin and the winner of the best-of-three count became mayor.

One-time mayor Sue Cudilla beat incumbent Noel Beronio in the toss that was held Friday, a day after the vote.

A similar instance of winning by luck happened in Yukon last October. The town of Faro resorted to a draw after two mayoral candidates each garnered 86 votes. Yukon's Municipal Act lays out the rules for a win-by-draw.

Faro has a population of about 350 people.

-With files from AP

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  Sue Cudilla is declared the winner after a coin-toss in the Philippines to decide the new mayor of the town of Araceli, Palawan, on Friday, May 17, 2019.

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  A Philippines elections officer shows a coin to one of the candidates for mayor on Friday, May 17, 2019, during a best-of-three toss to decide the winner.