Party Conduct Assessment, Says Boycott Policy was Wrong

Abstract

Where the people saw in the February 7, 1986 snap presidential election a chance to deliver a crippling blow on the Marcos regime, a memorandum by the Executive Committee of the Party Central Committee (EC-CC) saw it merely as "a noisy and empty political battle" among factions of the ruling class. When the aroused and militant people moved spontaneously but resolutely to oust the hated regime last February 22-25, the Party and its forces were on the sidelines, unable to lead or influence the hundreds or thousands of people who moved with amazing speed and decisiveness to overthrow the regime. This was because of the Party's official policy enunciated by the EC-CC to launch an active and vigorous boycott campaign vis-a-vis the election, a policy that was based--as the events showed--on the incorrect reading of the political situation. An assessment conducted by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee characterized the boycott policy as a major political blunder.