Manila, May 10 (Reuters): Gloria Macapagal Arroyo looked likely to win six more years as President of the Philippines in today’s elections, two exit polls showed, after a bitter contest with action movie hero Fernando Poe Jr.

Victory would give Arroyo her first real mandate to lead the largely Roman Catholic nation of 82 million people after three years of only partly successful efforts to tackle corruption, insurgencies, huge debts, pervasive poverty and a weak economy. The official results will take a month, leaving Filipinos and foreign investors in limbo and Arroyo’s government hamstrung with the potential for instability during the drawn-out count.

Despite 114 poll-related deaths since December, including at least 20 yesterday and today, a military spokesman said voting was“generally peaceful” with no sign of feared attacks by al Qaida-linked militants or plots to disrupt the vote.