Do votes really count? By Charles Judiel Baynas Introduction It’s the year 2016 and it’s an election year. A few months before the May 9 General Elections. As the election day go nearer, political campaignings, mudslingings, and others are getting more intensified. And Philippine elections has been like that since the Fifth Philippine Republic was born through the 1987 constitution. And Elections in the Philippines are integral to Philippine Democracy. But what is democracy? Democracy is defined as a rule of the people, by the people, and for the people. Coming from the Greek words “Demos” meaning people, and “Kratia” or “Kratos” meaning rule or power (Ayson & Aligada-Reyes, 2000). But since it is highly impossible to practice it literally or purely on a large scale, sovereign states all around the world more or less have its citizens or just a collective few elect representatives that shall govern on behalf of the people. But by electing such, there has to be a system that shall govern in doing so, depending on what results are being desired. This is where the topic of electoral systems enters and each sovereign state has differing electoral systems. The Status Quo The Philippines uses several electoral systems. For the offices of the President, Vice President, Governor, Vice Governor, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and other executive offices, First-Past-The-Post is being used. For the House of Representatives, a mixture of First-Past-The-Post and modified Closed-List Party-List Proportional Representation also known as Parallel Voting is being used. While for the Senate, and local government legislative councils, Plurality-At-Large Voting is being used. All of which are in accordance with the 1987 constitution, the local government code, and other related statutes (De Leon, 2008). But the electoral systems being used are not without flaws. For example, the electoral systems in place tend to favor personalities rather than political parties which contribute to the lack of well-organized political parties that are vital in a well-functioning democracy. That the First-Past-The-Post and Plurality-At-Large voting systems are plurality/majority systems that do not suit well in a multi-party democracy as those systems lead to elections where winners are “determined based on who got the highest number of voters among a potentially infinite number of candidates” which results to minority leaderships due to the multi-party condition (Aceron, Teehankee, Encinas-Franco, & Leonillo, 2009; Reynolds, Reilly, & Ellis, 2005). Which also opposes the very essence of democracy that is “majority rule”. For instance, since the 1987 constitution got ratified, there was no elected president that won by a majority of votes. Hence, the reason why every sitting president since then has most of the population in opposition to them (Aceron, Teehankee, Encinas-Franco, & Leonillo, 2009). Furthermore, the requirements for a successful application of plurality/majority systems does not exist in the Philippines like a two-party dominant democracy; a homogeneous society; basic consensus among the citizenry regarding the rule of the majority; and the possibility of having the minority become a majority (Nohlen, 1984). Not to forget the proneness of the mentioned plurality systems to gerrymandering where the apportionment of political boundaries is being manipulated for the advantage of a political interest, and gerrymandering proved to be so rampant in the Philippines (Capuno, 2013). In addition, the current modified Closed-list Party-list Proportional Representation System do also raise certain issues like its inability to provide a breeding ground for political parties, which defeats its original purpose of having the party-list system set-up the condition for a well-functioning political party system to thrive, due to the specific mechanisms set up by Republic Act no. 7941 otherwise known as the Party-List System Act like the law’s definition of party-list groups which only include sectoral groups but exclude political parties hence why the latter can’t enter party-list elections, and the three-seat cap where party-lists are only allowed to have three seats maximum (Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, 2005). Such mechanisms not only ban political parties to participate in party-list elections but also lead to sectoral groups being fragmented to desperately increase their representation in the House of Representatives. And those are the Philippines’ current electoral systems in a nutshell. Better Democracy What we need is to have a democratic system that is more efficient and reflective to the wishes of the people (Carlos, Lalata, Despi, & Carlos). To do so, there are three attributes that should characterize our electoral systems like the assurance of representation for the opposition which is vital in a democracy to function (Jensen, 2014); the tendency to favor political parties rather than personalities which will set the conditions for a well-organized political party system to develop as it is a vital element too for a wellfunctioning democratic system (Aceron, Teehankee, Encinas-Franco, & Leonillo, 2009); and lastly, the promotion of a stable government that reflects the wishes of the majority of the population (Jensen, 2014). Such attributes are really important for a democratic system to work well. In a well-functioning democracy, everyone should have a voice in government. A truly democratic government has to be a government that is constantly being checked on its power to keep it responsible and in-line with the wishes of the people. Hence, a political opposition must be guaranteed to ensure the government does its job and also protect the minority from any kind of unjust tyranny even if it is a tyranny-of-themajority. After all, they are part of the “people”. A strong political party system is also needed as political parties embody several differing political ideologies which the people may believe on. (Aceron, Teehankee, Encinas-Franco, & Leonillo, 2009) Such political groups shouldn’t be temporary political alliances which only seeks to put individuals with political ambitions and vested interests into power but without real principles (Aceron, Teehankee, Encinas-Franco, & Leonillo, 2009). A serious government should be established from real principles otherwise, it would only be a laughing stock with no real intention to govern with all seriousness. And of course, the government should be stable enough to last. A stable government would only happen if it has real ability to lead on without being disrupted for its decisions because of too much opposition. It has to be approved by, at least, the majority of the population. With all that being said, a massive electoral reform is indeed needed. Electoral Reform: Ideas and policies The reform of electoral systems should start with constitutional reform. Because the 1987 Constitution is the main document that established our current electoral systems. First is the Presidency and the Vice-Presidency. There are many suggestions on how to change the way we elect our president and vice president, one of which is inspired by the way the French elect theirs (Reilly, 2016). The French Republic uses a two-round system in electing their president. It works this way: In the first round of the presidential election, there are lots of candidates vying for the same office being contested as in a multiparty democracy but there’s a 50% threshold. In other words, it is required for a winner to have more than 50% of the total votes cast in the presidential election. But, if no candidate won more than 50% of the total votes, a second round of presidential election is to be called with only the top two leading candidates from the previous round going to contend and whoever is the winner wins the office. That way, it will be assured that no president is going to be a minority president (Reynolds, Reilly, & Ellis, 2005). For the Senate, it is also being suggested for a return of senatorial districts where each senatorial district elects one senator or more similar to how it is being done to the US senate and the senates of other countries, even to our own House of Representatives. But the specific governing electoral system for the Senate is still being debated. It is suggested that for the House of Representatives, a closed-list semi-proportional representation system should be used. Why a closed-list semi-proportional representation system? A closed-list variant will force the electorate to vote for political parties rather than personalities as the names of political parties will only appear on the ballot rather than the names of individual candidates, and a semi-proportional representation system will grant us the benefit of having a fair amount of seats for the opposition and a stable majority floor or government. An example of a closed-list semi-proportional representation system that can be used is a closed-list Majority Bonus System where a fixed number of extra seats will be given to the winning political party for a stable majority or government (Jensen, 2014). And for the local governments, it will be best if each local government unit has their own differing electoral systems to be used as long as those meet the mentioned attributes to characterize those but a reform in the local government code will be needed to do so. Regardless, the specifics on what electoral systems should replace the current electoral systems are still debatable. However, the need for a massive electoral reform is something that is already agreed among some Filipino political scientists and different electoral reform movements. Conclusion While it is true that there are no perfect systems, that goes the same with electoral systems. Electoral systems are being adopted based on what kind of electoral results are being demanded. The results brought by our current electoral systems are, undoubtedly, bad. Such results made our democracy inefficient and unreflective as we end up with the type of leaders we do not want. However, hope hasn’t been lost. It still is not too late for real political change. Hopefully, electoral reform gets noticed by the next administration as it is being needed for a long time now. Works Cited Aceron, J., Teehankee, J. C., Encinas-Franco, J., & Leonillo, G. (2009). Reforming the Philippine Political Party System: ideas and initiatives, debates and dynamics. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). Ayson, F. G., & Aligada-Reyes, D. (2000). Fundamentals of Political Science (2nd ed.). Mandaluyong: National Book Store. Capuno, J. J. (2013, June). Fiscal transfers and gerrymandering under decentralization in the Philippines. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from UP School of Economics Discussion Papers: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/708 Carlos, C. R., Lalata, D. M., Despi, D. C., & Carlos, P. R. (n.d.). Democratic Deficits in the Philippines: What is to be Done? Makati: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. De Leon, H. S. (2008). Textbook on the Philippine Constitution. Quezon City: Rex Printing Company, inc. Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. (2005). Fairing Well: The Philippine Party-List System (Current Lessons and Implication). Quezon City: IPER and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Jensen, K. L. (2014, November 25). Based on discussions we have had internally among members of the CoRRECT™ Movement, we have concluded that we need an electoral system with the following attributes. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristian.jensen.547/posts/10205355964274899 Nohlen, D. (1984). Elections and electoral systems. Bonn: Freidrich Ebert Stiftung. Reilly, B. (2016, March 11). Electing a president: Picked by some, rejected by many. Retrieved April 4, 2016, from Rappler: http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/125133-reillypresidential-elections-run-off Reynolds, A., Reilly, B., & Ellis, A. (2005). Electoral System Design: The New International IDEA Handbook. Stockholm: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. EXPOSITORY WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Name: Charles Judiel Baynas Topic: Do Votes Really Count? Opening Sentences: - Elections in the Philippines are integral to Philippine Democracy. - But what is democracy? - Democracy is defined as a rule of the people, by the people, and for the people. - But since it is highly impossible to practice it literally or purely on a large scale, sovereign states all around the world more or less have its citizens or just a collective few elect representatives that shall govern on behalf of the people. - But by electing such, there has to be a system that shall govern in doing so, depending on what results are being desired. Transition Word or Phrase - This is where the topic of electoral systems enters and each sovereign state has differing electoral systems. Reason #1 Topic Sentence: The Philippines uses several electoral systems. Supporting Details: 1. For the offices of the President, Vice President, Governor, Vice Governor, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and other executive offices, First-Past-The-Post is being used. 2. For the House of Representatives, a mixture of First-Past-The-Post and modified Closed-List Party-List Proportional Representation also known as Parallel Voting is being used. 3. While for the Senate, and local government legislative councils, Plurality-At-Large Voting is being used. Transition Word or Phrase - And those are the Philippines’ current electoral systems in a nutshell. Reason #2 Topic Sentence: What we need is to have a democratic system that is more efficient and reflective to the wishes of the people. Supporting Details: 1. To do so, there are three attributes that should characterize our electoral systems like the assurance of representation for the opposition; 2. the tendency to favor political parties rather than personalities which will set the conditions for a well-organized political party system to develop; 3. and lastly, the promotion of a stable government that reflects the wishes of the majority of the population. Transition Word or Phrase - With all that being said, a massive electoral reform is indeed needed. Reason #3 Topic Sentence: The reform of electoral systems should start with constitutional reform. Supporting Details: 1. There are many suggestions on how to change the way we elect our president and vice president, one of which is inspired by the way the French elect theirs. 2. For the Senate, it is also being suggested for a return of senatorial districts where each senatorial district elects one senator or more similar to how it is being done to the US senate and the senates of other countries, even to our own House of Representatives. 3. It is suggested that for the House of Representatives, a closed-list semi-proportional representation system should be used. Concluding Summary: While it is true that there are no perfect systems, that goes the same with electoral systems. Electoral systems are being adopted based on what kind of electoral results are being demanded. The results brought by our current electoral systems are, undoubtedly, bad. Such results made our democracy inefficient and unreflective as we end up with the type of leaders we do not want. However, hope hasn’t been lost. It still is not too late for real political change. Hopefully, electoral reform gets noticed by the next administration as it is being needed for a long time now.
