Election and Political

Parties
TERMS

•Political System
–Electoral System
•Party System
–Party List System
•Interest Group
Political System
• The Philippine political system is
founded on the ideals of
republicanism, presidential and
democratic framework whereby
mandate of government officials
to govern are delegated to them
by the people who remain as the
ultimate source of political power,
authority and sovereignty.
Electoral System
• The electoral framework is highly
important in the shaping and
developing of political parties which in
turn will select the candidates who will
be chosen by the people to handle key
positions in the government.
• Candidates in all positions who got the
highest number of votes are declared
winners. This method of election has
been practiced since the independence
from the United States.
Party System
• Political parties are tasked to
screen candidate selection,
formation of political alliances,
political objectives and vision in
response to problems faced by
the nation and interest
confluence.
Party list System
• The idea of party list system is to allow
marginalized group or sector of society that
is not represented by the political parties or
parties that filled candidates in the
elections.
• Party list system is also a form of
proportional representation in the
government through the lower house.
Interest Group
• This is an organized body of
individuals or groups formed to
represent, promote, influence, defend,
and express the interests of the people
they represent. There are many types of
interest group, and their representation
varies according to the interest they
represent.
Philippine Setting
Presidentiables of 2016
• Is that really the majority?
• Majority= ½ + 1
• Eligible voters= 55 M
• 55/2 + 1= Majority Vote
• 27, 500, 001
• 55% of the majority vote is
the highest vote for the
presidential candidate
Looking back to 2010 Elections
• Is it a majority vote?
• If the voting mass for 2010 is 36,
139, 102
• 18, 069, 552 is the majority votes
• 84% of majority vote is the highest
vote
Electoral Process
• This Electoral System has created a lot of
problems in the Philippines. It resulted into
minority leadership which in turn can be easily
challenged by people who did not support or vote
for a particular government official.
The Following Are The Effects Of Philippine Electoral System:

• Minority leadership
• Leaders are susceptible to opposition
• Leaders do not show allegiance to the party
• Coalitions are not common or lack of coalition building
• Proportional representation does not exist
• The link between the results of the elections and the configuration of leadership
in government is diluted (Aceron, 2009)
Political Parties
• In the Philippines, political parties do not
have a strong political alliance that is
maintained even after or before elections.
• Alliances of members are temporary and
usually based on financial support that a
party member could get from his/her
membership rather than ideological interest.
• Membership in the political party is like
membership in a sports team in which the
player can be pirated or transferred to
another team depending on financial offer.
The life expectancy of membership and the
political party itself is very short.
• What defines a party? It is a party if its
representatives represent the true
platform of the party and it has well-
maintained machinery in selecting
political candidates not just for a
particular election season but in every
electoral process.
• It has permanent membership and has
capable of financial support to the
members.
Functions of a Political Party:

• 1) Representation – the capacity to respond and articulate the views of both members and voters.
• 2) Elite Formation And Recruitment – the ability to mold the political elite tasked to govern the
body politic.
• 3) Goal Formulation – the development of programs of government with a view of attracting
popular support.
• 4) Interest Articulation And Aggregation – the task of combining and harmonizing different
demands and expressing them into coherent policy formulation.
• 5) Socialization And Mobilization – the formation of a national agenda and the creation of a
public discourse to raise political awareness and build the necessary values and attitudes that
would constitute a larger political culture.
• 6) Organization Of Government – the power given to a political party that gains the necessary
votes to constitute the governmental elite, filling governmental posts with elements from the party
ranks.
Party List
• The declaration stressed in the 1987
Constitution was that party list system
will give underrepresented or
marginalized sector of society a chance
to obtain representation in the House of
Representatives so that they could be
able to participate in the formulation of
laws that could be of value to the sector
they are representing and the nation as
a whole.
Problems of Part List
• Representatives did not come from the sector they were representing
• Party list groups continue to split in an effort to gain more seats in the lower house
• Party list groups lack financial support from the sector or organizations they were
representing
• Party list is often used as a backdoor to enter politics or to maintain seat in the
lower house
• Party list is used by politicians to gain more support in the house
• Party list groups do not constitute the marginalized sector
• Party list groups lack a well-defined constituencies
Types of Interest Group
• 1) Sectional – sectional groups represent the interest of their members. Examples:
Association of public school teachers, Philippine Medical Association, Kapisanan
ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas, Reform the Armed Forces Movement
• 2) Promotional – promotional groups seek to influence government policy in a
particular area. Examples: Greenpeace, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines,
Kilusang Mayo Uno
• 3) Fire Brigade – groups that are formed to lobby a specific issue but
automatically dismantled once the issue is resolved. Examples: a group seeking
the repeal of death penalty, a group seeking not to pass the R.H. bill
Functions of Interest Groups
• They provide information to the people, public officials or the government
• They serve as a link between the people they represent and the institution they
want to be heard
• They influence government policy making or decision making
• Three types of information acquired by interest group/s in the legislative agenda
• Status and prospect of bills under active consideration
• The electoral implications of legislators’ support or opposition to potential
legislation
• The political, economic, social and environmental consequences of policies
Discussion today
• Our system is also a cycle.
Political
System • But, it is a cycle that
sometimes commits the
Interest Electoral same mistake all over
Groups System
again.
• So, what would be your
solution to perpetuate the
Party List Party cycle while improving it
System System
all over again?
Click icon to add picture