NATURE OF

ELECTIONS AND
POLITICAL PARTIES
IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Elections
device for filling a government office through choices made
by the electorate, a designate body of qualified people.

Ideally, elections serve as a major source of political

recruitment, a means of making government, and of
transferring government power, a guarantee of
representation, and a major determinant of government
policy’(Heywood, 2000).
Types of Elections
1. General Election - held for the purpose of electing
national and local officials simultaneously.
2. National Elections- conducted to elect the
President, Vice-President and members of congress
3. Local Elections - held for purpose of selecting
officials in the Region, provinces, cities and
municipalities.
4. Special Elections – held on a date different from
that of regular election.
As posted on the Official Gazette webpage of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
posted on July 15, 2020 Article V-Suffrage
Section 1 states that:
Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the
Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who
are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall
have resided in the Philippines for at least one year
and in the place wherein they propose to vote for at
least six months immediately preceding the
election. No literacy, property, or other substantive
requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of
suffrage.
Suffrage
Suffrage is the right and obligation to
vote of qualified citizens in the election of
certain national and local officers of the
government and in the decision of public
questions submitted to the people.
Nature of Suffrage

(1) A mere privilege – Suffrage is not a

natural right of the citizens but merely a
privilege to be given or withheld by the law-
making power subject to constitutional
limitations.
Nature of Suffrage

(2) A political right – Suffrage enables every

citizen to participate in the process of
government to assure that it can truly be said
to derive its powers from the consent of the
governed. The principle is that of one man,
one vote.
Scope of Suffrage

1. Election – It is the process in

which people vote to choose a person
or group of people to hold an official
position
Scope of Suffrage

2. Plebiscite – an election wherein

people decide to accept or reject
certain changes in the constitution.
Scope of Suffrage

3. Referendum – an election device in

which a law can either be accepted or
repealed based on the popular vote of the
people.
Scope of Suffrage

4. Initiative – It is the process

whereby the people directly propose
and enact laws.
Scope of Suffrage
5. Recall – It is a method by which a public
officer may be removed from office during his
tenure or before the expiration of his term by
a vote of the people after registration of a
petition signed by a required percentage of
the qualified voters.
Qualification of Voters
He must be:
• 1. A citizen (male or female) of the Philippines;
• 2. Not otherwise disqualified by law;
• 3. At least eighteen (18) years of age; and
• 4. Have resided in the Philippines for at least one
(1) year and in the place wherein he proposes to
vote for at least six (6) months preceding the
election.
It is also stated in the 1987
Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines – Article IX –C the
establishments of Commission on
Elections (COMELEC. In Section 2
discusses the powers and
functions of COMELEC:
1. Enforce and administer all laws and regulations
relative to the conduct of an election, plebiscite,
initiative, referendum, and recall.

2. Exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all

contests relating to the elections, returns, and
qualifications of all elective regional, provincial,
and city officials, and appellate jurisdiction over
all contests involving elective municipal officials
decided by trial courts of general jurisdiction, or
involving elective barangay officials decided by
trial courts of limited jurisdiction.
Meaning of Political Party
a political party is defined as an organized
and presumably durable association, either of
individuals or of distinguishable groups of
individuals, which endeavours to place its
members in governmental offices for the
purpose of bringing about the adoption of
favoured political policies or programmes
Meaning of Political Party
Of all the characteristics of parties, the one
which distinguishes them from all other
associations evincing a substantial interest in
public affairs is their effort to secure the
election or the appointment of their own
personnel to the public positions through
which the policies of government are
prescribed for implementation.
Characteristics of a Political Party
One of the primary characteristics of a
political party is its objective to control the
exercise of governmental powers by placing
its own members in the public offices through
which the policies of government are
determined.
Characteristics of a Political Party
A second characteristic of a political
party is its intention to use governmental
powers for purposes which meet with the
general approval of its leaders and the
rank and file of its membership.
Types of Electoral System
1. One-party system - An open system
of the one-party variety exists in those
jurisdictions in which a particular party
is so much stronger than any of its
nominal competitors that it almost
invariably is successful in winning
control of the government. Example:
North Korea, China
Types of Electoral System
2. Bi or two-party system - The earmark of a two-
party system is their existence of two major parties
which are so strongly supported that one or the
other ordinarily emerges as the victor in elections
and consequently gains mastery of the government.
Although one of these parties may win a series of
victories, its chief competitors always is the
running and sooner or later manages to defeat its
opponent. Example: In the US – Republican vs
Democrats
Types of Electoral System
3. Multiparty system - Multiple-party systems are
featured by the presence of a fairly large number of
parties with compete with one another on relatively
equal terms. Several parties may be considerably in
comparison with their minor competitors, but they
lack the strength of the major parties under a
genuine two-party system. None of them is
regularly able to muster sufficient voting strength
to capture control of government. Example:
Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Indonesia,
South Korea
There are several political parties that stand
for the election in the country. The
Nacionalista Party, the Liberal Party, the
Lakas-CMD, the PDP-LABAN, the Nationalist
People's Coalition, the Laban ng
Demokratikong Pilipino, the Akbayan and the
Philippine Democratic Socialist Party are the
parties with largest membership in Congress.