We can call it now

フィリピンの大統領選は９日に投開票され、過激な発言で人気を集めるドゥテルテ氏が当選確実となりました。

Tough-talking Philippine mayor looks set to be new president

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A brash and tough-talking mayor who has pledged to kill suspected criminals and end crime within six months looked set to become the next president of the Philippines after taking an unassailable lead in an unofficial vote count in Monday's elections.

The son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos had a narrow lead in the vice presidential race.

Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of southern Davao city, had secured more than 14.4 million votes, according to a count of 87 percent of precincts nationwide. The closest of his four main rivals, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, had 8.6 million votes. Final results are expected Tuesday.

"We can call it now because the gap got so big relative to the maximum the No. 2 can get" of the remaining votes, said William Yu of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting. The group is accredited by the Commission on Elections to conduct the unofficial "quick count."

A victory by Duterte would amount to a massive political shift in the Philippines. Starting as an outsider, Duterte built his popularity with radical pledges to eliminate poverty and end corruption and crime. He has a reputation for fighting crime as mayor of Davao for 22 years, but has been accused of ordering extrajudicial killings to achieve that.

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160510/p2g/00m/0in/008000c

今回取り上げる表現は、”We can call it now”です。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)で”call”を引いてみたところ、第９義に「〈コインの裏か表か〉を言う；〈選挙など(の結果)〉を予測する」とありました。

Macmillan Dictionary.comでは、”[INTRANSITIVE/TRANSITIVE] to say what you think will happen, for example in politics or business”と定義されており、

The situation in the East is hard to call.
It’s very difficult to call the market.

の２文が例文として示されていました。

今回の”We can call it now”は、文脈も考慮に入れると、「もう勝ちだと言ってもいいだろう、当選確実といえます」といった解釈になるかと思います。

フィリピンの大統領がドゥテルテ氏になることによって、日本との外交関係が変わってくることも予測されます。今後も注目していきたいと思いました。(Blue Sky)