The Transformation of Filipino Elections

Abstract

On the surface, the electoral process currently underway appears to be dominated by old faces and traditional forces. But before dismissing the process too hastily as nothing more than a repeat performance of oligarchic politics, the discreet changes that have happened and that now figure in the electoral battle ought to be reviewed more closely. But certain basic things have become clear at the early stages of the current electoral campaign. The more ideologically distinct a political grouping is, the narrower its support will tend to be. The more pluralist a political organization, the wider its electoral base. The business of winning elections in the Philippines will increasingly become a matter for electoral technicians to solve.