At least 25 people have been killed in violence related to upcoming village-level elections in the Philippines, the national police said Sunday. It came as police imposed tight security for Monday's elections in which Filipinos will vote for district chairmen and council members in the nation's 42,000 villages, said police spokesman Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz.

Police records show 25 people had been killed and 10 wounded in election-related violence since the campaign period began on September 25, he told reporters. "We have been on full alert since Saturday night. We will be setting up security assistance desks in all voting centres to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections," Cruz said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010