ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES

IN THE PHILIPPINES
ACTIVITY 1. SCAMBLED LETTERS

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 ELECTION

• Election is the process by which

voters in a country select the
official who will exercise the
powers of the government for a
period fixed by law.
 TWO TYPES OF ELECTION

1.Regular Election – one conducted nationwide or in certain

political subdivisions of the country. This normally done
through balloting.
2.Special Election - one conducted to select the official through
balloting, who shall serve for the unexpired part of the term for
which the incumbent has been elected. The vacancy might be
due to death, incapacitated, or is recalled.
 SUFFRAGE
• Legal Basis (Article V of the 1987
Constitution)
• It is defined as the right and
obligation to vote and be voted in
public office.
 SCOPE OF SUFFRAGE

Election – means by which people choose their officials.

Plebiscite – the vote of the people of their choice for against a proposed law
submitted to them.
Referendum – the submission of a law passed by the legislative body to the
people for ratification or rejection.
Initiative – a method in which people directly propose a law.
Recall – a method by which an elective local official may be removed from
office during his tenure.
 WHO CAN VOTE?

• 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.
(Art. V Sec. 1)
 PERSONS DISQUALIFIED TO VOTE

• Those who have been sentenced to suffer imprisonment for not

less than one year.
• Those who committed any crime involving disloyalty to the
government such as sedition and rebellion.
• Those declared as insane or incompetent person.
 THE COMELEC

• The Commission on Elections, usually abbreviated as COMELEC, is

one of the three constitutional commissions of the Philippines, others
being the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Commission on
Audit (COA). The COMELEC’s principal role is to enforce all laws
and regulations relative to the conduct of elections in the Philippines.
TH E PO W E RS A N D F U N C TI O N S O F TH E CO M EL EC A RE C O N F ER RED U PO N I T
BY TH E 1 98 7 CO N S TI T U T I O N A N D T H E O M N I BU S EL E CT I O N CO D E. TH EY
A RE C LA SS I F I E D I N TO :

• Administrative- refers to the enforcement and administration of election laws.The

COMELEC is authorize to issue rules and regulations to implement the provisions of
the 1987 Constitution and the Omnibus Election Code.
• Quasi-legislative- refers to the issuance of rules and regulations to implement the
election laws and to exercise such legislative functions as may expressly be delegated
to it by Congress.
• Quasi-judicial- embraces the power to resolve controversies arising from the
enforcement of election laws, and to be the sole judge of all pre-proclamation
controversies; and of all contests relating to the elections, returns, and qualifications
 POLITICAL PARTY

• A political party is an organized group of people who have the same

ideology, or who otherwise have the same political positions, and who
field candidates for elections, in an attempt to get them elected and
thereby implement the party's agenda. They are a defining element of
representative democracy.
• Effective political parties play an important role in the democratization
and political maturity of society. They serve as vehicles for collective
action and empowerment of their constituencies
 CHARACTERISTICS OF POLITICAL
PARTIES

1. They aim to exercise government power by winning seats in the government.

2. They are formally organized bodies with “card carrying” membership.
Membership involves taking formal oath.
3. They adopt a broad issue focus and address major areas of government
policy.
4. They are united by shared political preferences and ideological identity to
varying degrees.
 PARTY SYSTEM
• It is referred to as the interaction of
parties with each other.
 CLASSIFICATION:

1. ONE PARTY SYSTEM

Only one political party holds power either because it towers above the
other or it suppresses all other parties.
Note: the only choices left to voters are:
1. To decide whether or not to vote
2. To vote “yes or no” for the designated candidate
2. TWO PARTY SYSTEM
• A system where the major political parties alternate with
each other in the exercise of political power.
• Majority wins
Ex. US (Republican and Democratic)
2. MULTI PARTY SYSTEM
More than 2 political parties fight in an election, and no
single party gets the majority control of power.
Parties may become identified as either “lefties, righties
or center” parties depending upon the tendency of their
political views.
 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL
PARTIES
1. Representation - Representation refers to the ability of the parties to
respond to and articulate the views of members and voters. Political
parties are expected to represent the causes of the people they claim to be
supportive of.
2. 2. Elite formation and recruitment - Political parties provide a training
ground for politicians. These political parties train their members to
become future presidents, if not to occupy high positions in the
government.
 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

3. Goal formulation - Political parties become a source of policy initiation

and provide the electorate a choice of realistic and achievable goals.
Whatever policies are carried out in the Philippines are a product of these
parties
4. Interest articulation and aggregation - Political parties in the Philippines
are expected to be the voice of the people who supported them. Officials who
are members of different political parties engage in discussions to aggregate
the varying interests of people.
 FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

5. Socialization and mobilization - Political parties serve as agents of political

education and socialization through a series of internal debates and discussions, and
through campaigning and electoral competition.
6. Organization of government
• Political parties help in the formation of governments. Parties also give governments
a degree of stability and coherence. Similarly, they are a vital source of opposition
and criticism, both inside and outside the government.
• Political parties are instrumental in the creation of an administration. The creation of
majority or dominant parties after the election period highlights the creation of an
administration. Whatever is not part of the administration usually becomes the
opposition.