The document discusses political parties and electoral politics in the Philippines. It defines political parties, describes their characteristics and types based on membership, activities, and ideological orientation. It also examines the functions and importance of elections, voting activities, and challenges to the quality of elections in the Philippines.
The document discusses political parties and electoral politics in the Philippines. It defines political parties, describes their characteristics and types based on membership, activities, and ideological orientation. It also examines the functions and importance of elections, voting activities, and challenges to the quality of elections in the Philippines.
The document discusses political parties and electoral politics in the Philippines. It defines political parties, describes their characteristics and types based on membership, activities, and ideological orientation. It also examines the functions and importance of elections, voting activities, and challenges to the quality of elections in the Philippines.
Department of Political Science Ateneo de Manila University POLITICAL PARTIES • group of people organized for the purpose of winning government power, by electoral or other means • interest holders united by a definite set of party programs and attempt to advance a consistent line of policy • main goal is to gain control of the levers of government so that they can realize their policies or programs Characteristics • organizational structure w/ lines of authority and power distribution • seeks to attract popular support in the form of votes • recruits and fields candidates for elective positions Types of Political Parties • Based on membership - mass - cadre - devotee • Based on arena of activities - constitutional - revolutionary Types of Political Parties • Based on ideological orientation - Left parties (Far-left): goal is the eventual destruction of existing class hierarchies in society, by violence if necessary; call for comprehensive government intervention in the economy to redistribute wealth & guarantee welfare security to the most vulnerable - Center-Left parties: differ from left by their disavowal of violence and coercion; believe that equitable distribution of wealth is still a societal goal that should be realized by proper state intervention (with concurrence from the people) Types of Political Parties • Based on ideological orientation - Center parties: believe in the value of self- initiative & a minimal state role on economy - Center-Right parties: believe that the task of the government is to provide peace and order and to ensure the proper enforcement of laws and legal contracts - Right parties (Far-Right): parties of ultra conservatism & exclusionism; believe in „natural‟ differences among humans and that there are some persons, races, religions, classes that are more fit to rule than others. ELECTORAL POLITICS • vital connections between state authority and society, linking the structure of government to other social groupings • political action – seeking power to achieve policy objectives ELECTIONS • “a device for filling an office through choices made by a designated body of people: the electorate” • for the ordinary citizen: “elections are seen as the clearest instance of politics entering their lives” Functions • “Bottom-Up” functions (People Government View) – provide the citizenry with a meaningful way of participating in government – mechanism for leadership selection – An instrument for evaluating and changing governments – forum for interest articulation and political socialization Functions • “Top-Down” functions (Government- People View) – instrument of rule legitimization – guide to political strategy – agent of political socialization and integration Voting Activities in the Philippines • Elections – citizenry selects person who will exercise governmental power • Plebiscite - popular vote conducted to get electorate’s view on permanent changes to state’s political structure. • Referendum – popular vote regarding soundness of a law proposed • Recall – constitutional measure which empowers citizenry to remove a local official. • Initiative – a given percentage of voters may officially propose a law. The Voting System in the Philippines: Party-List Party-List System – Art. VI Sec. 5 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution – - party-list representatives be elected to constitute 20 per centum of the total number of the seats in the House of the Representative
Provides opportunity for under-represented
sectors and parties in Philippine society to have a legitimate chance of winning representation in Congress Quality of Elections in the Philippines • Anomalies in Philippine Elections: 1) lack of human manpower in the COMELEC 2) influence of “gold, guns and goons” 3) flying voters 4) vote buying 5) tampering with the election returns 6) „dagdag-bawas‟ Quality of Elections in the Philippines • Prevention of electoral frauds: 1) vigilance of the citizens 2) relevant government bodies 3) reforms such as computerization and continuous registration 4) political education 5) poll observers (local and international) during elections