Eleksyon 2019

2019 Philippine General election

The 2019 Philippine general election will be conducted on May 13, 2019. It shall be a midterm election, where the winners will take office on June 30, 2019, midway the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The following positions are expected to be contested:

• 12 seats in the Senate of the Philippines
• All seats in the House of Representatives of the Philippines
• All regional elected positions in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
  • If the electorate approves the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the regional election for the ARMM won't be done on this day
• All provincial-level elected positions in the provinces of the Philippines
• All city-level elected positions in the cities of the Philippines
• All municipal-level elected positions in the municipalities of the Philippines

Under the Local Government Code and the 1987 constitution, all terms start on June 30, 2019, and end on June 30, 2022, except for elected senators, whose terms shall end on June 30, 2025. The Commission on Elections will administer the election.

How to vote wisely; 7 tips

In a country perceived to be polarized, an apolitical article on better voting tips might come as a breath of fresh air. To the contrary, other readers, steeped in political traditions will find it easier to shrug off suggestions contained herein as political. As columnists, we have to tread a thin centrist line, fully knowing that readers always rightly or wrongly carve own conclusions.

Nationally we must be conscious that scheduled and unscheduled elections will always take place. As long as elected officers run their full tenures, die, resign or are convicted, those fateful days in which we are asked to vote, will surely come. Our voter’s cards must therefore be kept under lock and key, to help oil the election engine, at an appropriate time.

So the first tip is to make sure that you not only have a valid voter’s card but that you have verified your polling station. With due diligence, there shouldn’t be cases of missing polling stations. I know my polling station, have verified its existence and I’m geared to give my vote to my preferred candidate whenever required. I’m not and will never be a voter apathy statistic!

There are people who wrongly think that voting is a waste of time as always the same party comes out tops. This is warped thinking as winning and taking part in elections is equally weighted. Surely both victors and the vanquished play an important role in the governance process. This article was inspired by a Facebook friend, who thinks that voting is slowly becoming a sheer waste of time, as victors are predetermined by myriad factors.

Lest I digress, my idea in this article is to encourage voters to employ critical thinking on choice of candidates. Although not equally weighted, selection of candidates on my side follow a seven point plan. Ever since I ostensibly wasted my votes on not so worthy candidates in the yesteryears, I have resolved to give my vote to the one with the highest marks on my score sheet.

1. Track Record

The track record of the candidate speak volumes about how the person can fit in the elective position they are craving. Since political office, by its leadership nature is meant to serve a wider populace, it goes without saying that those who seek it must have some semblance of past emulatable services. Don’t expect much from novices, with a blank communal record. Someone promising to garner funds to sink a borehole can best campaign if they have at least one example of their promise!

2. Educational and Professional Qualifications

While acknowledging that leadership is not about educational and professional qualifications, I rank second these attributes, although I know that sometimes the unqualified are called. An educated, professionally qualified aspirant is more likely to use lessons learnt from their school process to better effect. Small wonder our elective system can only decipher candidates with a minimum qualification of Grade 12. Crafters of our constitution meant well to have this baseline.

3. Individual Manifesto

Now I do not believe that a lone candidate should entirely ride on a political party to win. While political parties have manifestos, it is incumbent upon aspiring candidates to localize their party manifestos in a meaningful manner. No candidate who does not have a saleable miniaturized manifesto, whether drawn from the bigger or individualized, will get my vote. I will only give my vote to a candidate that has a clear written or verbal manifesto. If you can’t even interpret your party ideals, how do you expect to lead others? Individual manifestos can be taken a step further by signing social contracts in which a candidate explains what they intend doing once elected.

4. Personal Attributes

My fifth point hinge on the personal attributes of the candidates. We’ve had many times that political parties sponsor candidates not liked by the grassroots. To me, likeable candidates have the mobilization capacity to change the tide of any election. You need to cultivate friendships, and networks, with the people you intend to lead. It does not matter whether you are being laundered by a powerful political party, if you have no likes in the community, like in Facebook likes; chances of losing are very high. My choice rhymes with the people’s choice. It is for this reason that I have to do basic research prior to voting.

5. Political Party Affiliation

Although most of our political parties seem wedded to the same ideologies, on my fifth rung is selection based on party affiliation. Since most of us belong to one party or the other, the same reason that attracted us to it, must count when voting. Analyze the governance, achievement and the pros and cons of your party. It should not bode well to vote on partisan lines, when you are given wrong choices. Some political parties have a tendency of ignoring the grassroots to their own peril. Since democracy is about numbers, it’s high time we started honoring the majority.

6. Grassroots Mobilization

Advocacy and grassroots mobilization play a major part in winning any election. A worthy candidate is someone whose involvement in these game changers is unquestionable. There are a lot of candidates, who we know cannot lead anyone but are just being propped by the system. Abash politics of appeasement; the voter has an inalienable right to throw such candidates to ‘has been dustbins’. It is high time we got candidates that mirror our desire for development. Why should we vote for someone whose influence is heavily tethered to the circle around their house?

If you can’t influence your neighborhood, how do you hope to handle a ward?

7. Public Speaking Skills

There is a difference between fast and slow speakers and my idea of listing this skill is not to deride one or the other. It is a well-known fact that you cannot convince any electorate without uttering a word. I analyze a potential person to vote for when I listen to their speeches. A simple believability test will tell me who to vote for! How many times have you listened to a candidate on radio or watched on television and come out utterly disappointed? Through public speeches lies are peddled, half-truths told, tales narrated and the moon promised. When you properly rate candidates based on their public utterances, it’s easy for you to isolate the cream. The confidence exuded by straight, likeable, trustworthy and saleable candidates, is the icing on the selection cake

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Philippine_general_election
https://goddychitty.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/how-to-vote-wisely-7-tips/

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