UNIT 10

ELECTIONS AND
POLITICAL PARTIES
 LESSON 1:
THE NATURE OF ELECTIONS
AND POLITICAL PARTIES IN
THE CONTEXT OF THE
PHILIPPINES
 ELECTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Politicalparties and elections play an important

role in the analysis of politics in developing
countries, particularly in the analysis of
democratization, and specifically the
consolidation of democratic political regimes.
 The Nature of Elections and Political Parties in
the Context of the Philippines

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population

chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual
mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since
the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in
the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government. This
process is also used in many other private and business organizations,
from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.
The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting
representatives in modern representative democracies is in
contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype,
ancient Athens, where the Elections were considered an
oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled
using sortation, also known as allotment, by which
officeholders were chosen by lot.
 HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN
THE PHILIPPINES

 The first Philippine political party, established in 1900, was

the Federal Party, which advocated peace and eventual
statehood. Later, the Nationalist Party (NP) and the
Democratic Party were established. They did not produce an
actual two-party system, since the Nationalists retained
exclusive control and the Democrats functioned as a "loyal
opposition."
 Liberal Party (LP) vs. Nacionalista Party (NP)

However, following Japanese occupation and the

granting of independence, an effective two-party
system developed between the Liberal Party (LP) and
the NP. The Progressive Party, formed in 1957 by
adherents of Ramon Magsaysay, polled more than one
million votes in the presidential election of 1958.
LIBERAL PARTY
 Rise of Ferdinand Marcos (1965)

In the elections of November 1965, Senator Ferdinand

Marcos, the NP candidate, received 55% of the vote. In
the 1969 election, he was elected to an unprecedented
second term. All political activity was banned in 1972,
following the imposition of martial law, and was not
allowed to resume until a few months before the April
1978 elections for an interim National Assembly.
 Kilusang Bagong Lipunan- KBL

 The Marcos government's New Society Movement (Kilusan

Bagong Lipunan- KBL) won that election and the 1980 and
1982 balloting for local officials, amid charges of electoral
fraud and attempts by opposition groups to boycott the
voting. The principal opposition party was the People's Power
Movement-Fight (Lakas Ng Bayan- Laban), led by Benigno S.
Aquino, Jr., until his assassination in 1983.
 United Nationalist Democratic
Organization (UNIDO)

This party joined with 11 other opposition parties in 1982

to form a coalition known as the United Nationalist
Democratic Organization (UNIDO). Following Aquino's
murder, some 50 opposition groups, including the members
of the UNIDO coalition, agreed to coordinate their anti-
Marcos efforts. This coalition of opposition parties enabled
Corazon Aquino to campaign against Marcos in 1986.
 Partido ng Bayan (Party of the Nation)

In September 1986 the revolutionary left formed a legal

political party to contest congressional elections. The
Partido ng Bayan (Party of the Nation) allied with other
left-leaning groups in an Alliance for New Politics. This
unsuccessful attempt for electoral representation resulted in
a return to guerrilla warfare on the part of the
Communists.
 People's Power Movement (Lakas Ng Bayan)

After assuming the presidency, Aquino formally organized

the People's Power Movement (Lakas Ng Bayan), the
successor to her late husband's party. In the congressional
elections of May 1987, Aquino's popularity gave her party
a sweep in the polls, making it the major party in the
country. Marcos's KBL was reduced to a minor party.
 Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD)

Some of its members formed their own splinter groups, such as

the Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD), a coalition of
parties seeking distance from Marcos. Others revived the LP
and the NP, seeking renewed leadership. The left-wing People's
Party (Partido Ng Bayan), which supports the political
objectives of the NPA, was a minor party in the elections. In
May 1989 Juan Ponce Enrile reestablished the Nacionalista
Party.
 Lakas-National Union of Christian Democrats
(Lakas/NUCD)

 On 30 June 1992 Fidel Ramos succeeded Corazon Aquino as president of the

Philippines with a plurality of 23.6%. In September 1992 Ramos signed the
Anti-Subversion Law signaling a peaceful resolution to more than 20 years of
Communist insurgency, with the repeal of the anti-subversion legislation in
place since 1957.
 On 26 August 1994 Ramos announced a new political coalition that would
produce the most powerful political group in the Philippines. Ramos' Lakas-
National Union of Christian Democrats (Lakas/NUCD) teamed with the
Democratic Filipino Struggle (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, Laban).
 Plurality Voting System

 The plurality voting system is used to determine the winner - the

candidate with the highest number of votes, whether or not one has
a majority, wins the presidency. The vice presidential election is a
separate election, is held on the same rules, and voters may split
their ticket. Both winners will serve six-year terms commencing on
the noon of June 30, 2016 and ending on the same day six years
later. Congress, Senate and local elections are held in the years of
presidential elections and three years before and after them.
 Electoral System in the Philippines

 The Philippines has universal direct suffrage at age 18 and

older to elect the president, vice president (who runs
independently), and most of the seats in the bicameral
legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives and
the Senate; a minority of House members known as sectoral
representatives are appointed by the president. Elections are
held not just for national leadership but also for
representation at the provincial and local levels.
 Elections for the Elite

Elections in the Philippines are the arena in

which the country's elite families compete for
political power. The wealthiest clans contest
national and provincial offices. Families of lesser
wealth compete for municipal offices.
 National Movement for Free Elections
(NAMFREL)
The 1987 Philippine Constitution also empowers the commission to
"accredit citizens' arms of the Commission on Elections." This refers to
the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), a private group
established in the 1950s, with advice and assistance from the United States,
to keep elections honest. NAMFREL recruited public-spirited citizens
(320,000 volunteers in 104,000 precincts in the 1987 congressional
elections) to watch the voting and monitor ballot-counting, and it prepared
a "quick count," based mostly on urban returns, to publicize the results
immediately.
 Commission on Elections (COMELEC)

The Commission on Elections enforces and administers all

election laws and regulations and has original jurisdiction over all
legal disputes arising from disputed results. To counter the
unwholesome influence occasionally exercised by soldiers and
other armed groups, the commission may depute law enforcement
agencies, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In dire
situations, the commission can take entire municipalities and
provinces under its control, or order new elections.
 ELECTORAL
TRIBUNALS
The final decision on all legislative elections rests with the
electoral tribunals of the Senate and House of
Representatives. Each electoral tribunal is composed of nine
members, three of whom are members of the Supreme
Court designated by the chief justice. The remaining six are
members of the Senate or the House, chosen on the basis of
proportional representation from parties in the chamber.