Elections in our country are scheduled again in October this year. This time barangay officials will be selected. Let’s take this opportunity to talk about the electoral process, not the one that applies to barangay elections though, but the one involving congressmen and senators.
People admire elected officials because they are charming, extremely popular, and much respected. There is a widespread perception that they are also affluent, which is not absolutely accurate by the way. Not many understand that to be a public servant, or specifically to run for public office, is one of the most difficult and frustrating things anyone can ever do.
Electoral exercises in our country typically have four phases: (a) The testing-the-waters period, (b) the Filing of the certificate of candidacy followed by the campaign period, (c) Election day, and (d) the Post-election period. All these periods are marked by various activities not just by the candidates themselves but more so by their leaders and supporters.
All these phases require a lot of resources. Machinery is therefore necessary. This includes the candidates finding a way to affiliate with associations, organizations, political parties, cooperatives, and the like, whose respective members could be mobilized during election day to vote for the candidate.
During the testing period, the most difficult obstacles are reserved for greenhorn candidates or those who are running for public office for the first time. Among the obstacles is name recall which is a challenge unless they are already known to the public, such as when they are actors or TV personalities.
Usually, it is during this stage also that the candidates will be able to gauge their chances and decide whether or not to go on with their candidacies. If they had been labeled as corrupt or linked to corrupt public officials, this would be devastating for them and they may decide to postpone their bid for later.
If the candidates decide to move forward, they will need campaign machinery that will work for them. Work involved at this stage usually consists of exposing the candidates and making sure that as many people, groups, and associations as possible become familiar with them.
Traveling to far-flung parts of the country, participating in events such as weddings and conferences, visiting wakes and attending funerals, resorting to media advertising, producing campaign jingles, inviting celebrities to add entertainment to rallies, purchasing needed campaign vehicles, all of these and more, you guessed it, require financial resources.
Campaigning also requires energy and stamina. Participating in caucuses in several localities is no easy feat. It requires endurance, which includes emotional and mental endurance, as some candidates on the trail are deliberately harassed by their rivals. It requires humility and patience as well.
The most tension-filled period in the four phases is certainly Election Day itself. This is the biggest, although not necessarily the final, test for the candidates when the electorate cast their votes for or against the candidate. The waiting part is just as excruciating as the campaign period.
Supporters by the thousands vigilantly observe and wait around the polling places just to be sure no election fraud is being committed. Nefarious activities such as intimidation of voters or vote-buying are monitored as well.
The post-election period involves activities such as ensuring that the ballot-counting is true and so that no illegal acts like switching of ballot boxes are committed. Again politicians pay for poll watchers and their precinct or school coordinators to remain in the places where the votes are being counted and ensure that cheating does not happen.
To an extent, the post-election period is just as crucial as election day itself because activities in this period focus on ensuring that electoral victories are accounted for.