News In Brief

Clean sweep may elude Marcos in Assembly vote

Unofficial returns from Manila indicate President Ferdinand Marcos's party might not get the clean sweep it expected in National Assembly elections. The vote was marred by ballot box thefts and at least 43 deaths, for most of which communist rebels were blamed. (See related article on Page 1.)

An independent citizens' group monitoring returns said the opposition United Nationalist Democratic Organization was leading in a majority of the 21 Assembly seats at stake in metropolitan Manila.

Similar trends appeared to be emerging in the provinces, according to the count by the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections. The group said Mr. Marcos's ruling New Society Movement, which held all the seats in the outgoing Assembly, elected under martial law in 1978, was leading in five provinces. Two were undecided.