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.

1. Political Parties and Electoral
Politics
Prof. Lourdes Veneracion-Rallonza, PhD
Department of Political Science
Ateneo de Manila University

2. 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

3. 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

4. Types of Political Parties
• Based on membership
- mass
- cadre
- devotee
• Based on arena of activities
- constitutional
- revolutionary

5. 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)

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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”

9. 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

10. Functions
• “Top-Down” functions (Government-
People View)
– instrument of rule legitimization
– guide to political strategy
– agent of political socialization and
integration

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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‟

14. 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