Regarding the ‘controversies’ in the recent Pisay elections, and more
Over on the message board, Iel asked me what I think about this year’s elections. Here is what I think.
First of all, I am very impressed by the sheer number of candidates this year. I think the campaign was very colorful, alive and a big improvement over last year. I wrote about this in depth in a post entitled, “Bright lights rock Pisay student elections!”.
Now regarding the election proper, I heard that there has been some ‘controversy’ about the results. At first, I didn’t know much about this since I am not as involved with the SA like last year. But I have been briefed on the situation and there are actually two issues.
First is in the first year.
If ever it turns out that there has been one section which failed to vote, there are two options. First is the straightforward by-the-book legal remedy which is to declare a failure of elections and have everything start over from scratch. This includes the campaign and the elections. However, this is very time-consuming and rather unfair to those who have turned out the winners already. A reelection will work against them.
The second alternative is for the SAEB (Electoral Board) to come clean with whatever shortcoming they had (if any) but they must keep the actual current number of votes secret until that section votes. Then they administer the elections to that other section and have a public recount for all to see. By principle, the votes should never be counted in secret. Party representatives must have been present during the counting at all times. If I recall, that has been in the SA constitution. We even do that in our real national elections.
Those are my thoughts on the situation. I hope whatever the SAEB decides, it will be fair to all concerned.
The second concerns the third year. I read the petitions and I saw the arguments, and I could only say one thing: no reelections.
The reason is simple: there were ballots turned in and there were votes counted.
A”failure of elections” (the only condition for reelection) can only be called if there had been less than 50% of the ballots turned in. The class size is around 230. For failure of elections, there should be at most 114 ballots only. But there were 230 turned in. Ergo, no failure. No reelections. Simple as that.
Then there are the other complaints. I am sorry to say this but all your current complaints mean nothing because of the simple fact that ballots were turned in. Regardless of whether the elections were announced or not, whether the SA representative administered the elections right or not, whether the forms were printed properly or not, whether you countersigned or not (there is NO rule for this), whether you were rushed or not, all of it doesn’t matter because the ballots were turned in.
If there were really problems with the procedure, then there should have been fewer or no ballots cast. That is how it works here and in the real world.
Lastly, the question of the margin of victory. I believe it is 4 votes. That is enough. Even if Llenel won by 1 vote, she would still be the victor. There is no rule saying that the lead should be by 10%. There is no rule that says her votes must be 50% plus one against the other. That 50% plus one rule only applies if you’re running against abstain.
HOWEVER, you can still complain. Convince the Comelec that there has been massive cheating, that your votes were manipulated or that only 114 of the batch really voted. Show evidence that will convince them without a shadow of a doubt that there has been failure of elections and then a true investigation can begin.
But get ready for a fight. If you want to fight for your candidate so bad, then make sure you have the evidence to back it up. As of now, the complaints forwarded are insufficient to call for a failure of elections and a reelection. That is how it goes.
Welcome to the real world.
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Iel raised a secondary comment about the form of government that would best suit Pisay.
Actually, Ms. Samala and I were working on a new form last year and she asked me to draft possible structures considering my political science background. I was able to come up with three proposals, and I designed one that contained a student senate and a board of governors.
This was the proposal that was actually approved:
This would have been the new SA. All positions in BLUE are those which the students directly vote for. All those in GREEN will also be elected but not into the positions assigned above. Those in GREEN would run for the governing council which can have as many candidates as possible. Then the TOP 5 winners for that governing council will move on to become part of the SA and only then will the winning president assign them positions.
The principle here is that I want the PRESIDENT to work closely with the CHIEF SECRETARIES and assign them roles which will really suit their skills. Let’s be honest. When students vote for an IVP or an EVP, they really don’t know what they’re looking for. But the PRESIDENT does and the assumption is that the TOP 5 winners have been identified to be the ‘best of the best’.
That sole position in YELLOW is someone which the Senators would elect among themselves. This person will be in charge of the Senate. Basically, the Senate is the body which coordinates the actions of the different clubs and batches. When there is a big project like the fair, the paskorito or even the prom, different parts of the community can help out even if one group takes the lead. For the Senate, the idea is for greater and deeper student involvement in the different projects.
Then you see the BOARD OF GOVERNORS. That is a small group composed of the different batch presidents convened by the executive secretary which the president appoints. The purpose of this board is for information dissemination and coordination since each governor heads one batch.
What follows is the structure for each batch.
The major difference of the batch council from the SA is that most of the positions are directly elected. The principle there is that the students feel the impact of their batch governments first before the over-all SA. Therefore, the students need more input into who becomes their batch officers.
The CLASS PRESIDENTS (as they are now actually) are a part of the batch council. They can serve as the batch’s version of the SA’s senate, coordinating the different sections during events like outbound trips, intrams and other events.
The SENATOR is basically the batch representative, only now there are two. They are the batch’s direct link to the SA and the different clubs.
In designing this structure, I kept the following principles in mind:
- All students are part of the SA. According to its constitution, the SA is an association where the SA government is just a representative of the will of the student body.
- Students feel the impact of their batch governments first, before the SA government. Therefore, they must have deeper participation in their batch government. Then it would be this batch government which would eventually engage directly with the SA.
- It is not necessary to directly elect all the SA officers. Instead, the SA has been redesigned to be the over-all coordinating body of the different batches and clubs. Of course, the SA can still move independently but they should be able to communicate and tap the students when needed. The new setup and all of its connections should make that easier.
- The batch councils are even more integrated into the SA, but they continue to retain their independence from the SA government. But we also recognize that batches can learn from each other. For example, when the 4th year hold the fair, they can tap (and train) the 3rd year. When the 3rd year hold their prom, they can utilize the 2nd years (just like what happened this year) and so on. The new connections make this even more possible.
- Even if the structure looks complicated, there is only one purpose: to build links and connections. That is an essential component of any government that attempts to reach out and make itself relevant to its people.
If you’re wondering why this never happened, it’s simple. The SA had a change of priorities then, especially after the Gelyn Fabro case. All of a sudden, updating the SA became a lesser priority until it was ultimately forgotten.
I was about to draft a new SA constitution and was about present it to the entire student body. After which, you guys would have voted on whether to adopt the new constitution or not. Too bad. We could’ve gotten that far.
This effort can be revived of course. But as of now, I’m not that involved with the SA since I’ve been given Aksis to be busy with. The SA Adviser still has my proposal and it would already be up to him if he wants to pursue this reform or not.
Nonetheless, a change of form of government can only do so much. It’s still up to the people to make it work and based on the performance of the SA this year, the system isn’t that broken at all. The goals of my new system can be achieved in the current system though it will take a lot of work from really good leaders.
Thus the good news about this year’s elections is that the candidates are so good that the winners can only be better. I hope this ‘controversy’ gets resolved soon so that they can already start working.
SIR!:) i have no doubts that you are right, it is impossible to have a re-election…
i just want to share my thoughts
if there is no re-election.. there will be chaos in our batch… 
jokes are already being started about batch 08-A and batch 08-B… not impossible that it will soon be true… 
and about the half+1 votes… i think they should implement it… i mean… having votes less than half (majority) of the batch would simply mean that you are not “trusted” by everyone… it won’t work… you won’t be taken seriously… people would rather have the position vacant… soo… for me.. a re-election is best for the batch, wherein the choice of abstain will not be given to the votee.. with this system, you will be sure that the winner is clearly the person that we all trust…
till here…
Fidel Ramos did not receive a majority vote but won only because he had the highest minority vote. Still, he became one of the best presidents we ever had.
It is not true that just because someone didn’t win the majority then that person will immediately be seen as less of a president. In a democracy, majority wins no matter how small it is. It is up to the winner to win the other side over. Unless some of your batch mates remain the ‘children’ that they are, I don’t see how this should be impossible.
Thus, I doubt that a reelection will make everyone happy. If you expect to vote someone you all trust into power, it just won’t happen. There will always be a losing side.
And if the concern of the batch is that they get split down A and B, the problem is not the president but with the batch itself. No elections can fix that. People just have to be more mature and give the winner a fair chance. She won the majority after all so no questions there.
And I don’t see how the other side won’t have a say with how things go next school year. Your leader may be different you’re still one batch. The losing side can still participate and offer support. I don’t see how people think that they could no longer have the fair they want to, have the yearbook they want to, have the grad ball they want to. I’m sure your officers next year will accommodate your different suggestions.
So having said this, it is not the vote which will split you, but the attitude the losers have towards those who won.
awww i typed a very long comment and it got lost.
anyway haha ibubullet ko na lang.
1. sanay ang batch namin sa single candidate lang.. mas nagiging united ang electorate. not very democratic but it worked for us. challenge is for the new set of leaders to convince the side that did not support them to follow them.
2. masaya kung magpapalit ng constitution. tapos ang gagamitin, constitutional convention, with students actually drafting the sections of the SA constitution. tas may plebscite pang kasama sa dulo! would really be an eye-opener to how difficult it is to change the fundamental law of the organization and how important it is to consider seriously the various calls and against for cha-cha.
3. the proposed structure is great. parang naformalize lang ang usual channels of communication between councils and how committees are formed whenever there is a project.
4. a senate would be a great idea pero mas masaya if it wielded a little more “power” i doubt kumpede maglegislate ng rules and stuff. siguro tipong consultative body na tinatanong ng admin occasionally.
hehe and about the controversy, di naman po ako magcocomment. hehe. i just know it will be resolved in due time. i hope ngayon hindi na po mawala ang comment ko.
Hey Rob!
#2 is great and would work if began near the start of the school year. I would love that too and I hope to see that happen before I leave Pisay.
Yeah, I’m sure this controversy will die down soon. People need to be more honorable.
i agree with you about the no reelections. Because of all these complaints, arguments, rumors, and blahs that’ve been going around… and well… the fact concerning the universal grease… the elections won’t by as fair as they would’ve been the first time around… no matter what they argue… there are those who say that if ellie was really meant to win then she’d win the reelections… but yknow… that’s not quite true… because im sure that quite a lot of people have been convinced not vote for their originally intended candidate… whichever way they voted… i for one am choosing to abstain if there will be a reelection… I mean find it dumb… and damn annoying… i think its quite obvious to everyone that the issue of the lack of organization in the voting and certain rumors about people campaigning against, is NOT the real issue… its something else… something that i, for one, am quite sick of… maybe you understand what i mean, maybe you dont… but well.. that’s how it is… but its times like these that makes you want to curse grease for making the world go round…
*if ever that there will be a divided batch (08-A, 08-B) i’d go for the neutral one… for the elections… though id be cheering one side on quietly behind everyone’s backs…
Honor… now wouldn’t it be nice if people still lived by that concept?
Sturm Brightblade and Gerard Uth Mondar, dunno if you know them, they’re fictional characters from the Dragonlance saga… but if you wanted Honor… well they’d be nice models…
“So having said this, it is not the vote which will split you, but the attitude the losers have towards those who won.”
I totally agree!
Now knowing that 230 votes were actually cast, I am all for no re-election. Despite voter or conduction negligence, despite “sympathy vote” excuses, we have a definite victor who won fair and square. Moral of the story is, take voting seriously. (And listen to instructions, I suppose.)
Hmmm. In some way, agree ako dun sa no re-elections. Kasi well amen Sir Martin, i-prove muna na nadaya sila or something like that. But if you see it or if you’re voting for gratitude’s sake, most probably you will agree. Maraming nagawang achievements ang 08 dahil na rin sa perseverance at dahil na rin Chiara worked hard for it as a Batch President [ just like Sir Villavert said ].
Either way, wala naman akong kinakampihan. XD
Jimpo: Amen.
JC: Amen too.
Kyla: Gratitude voting is not a sufficient reason to call for a reelection.
Send her a ‘thank you’ card.
yah sir i know. narinig ko lang siya actually sa isang person na sinabi lang sa kanya ng isang teacher =o We’re not voting for gratitude’s sake. And i think that the petition for re-election is exxgerated.
was exxagerated, i mean. T_T
and sir, basahin nio na lang yung entry ko.i posted Sir Villavert’s Opinion regarding this.[since it's a public announcement].. i posted it sa lahat ng blogs ko.. n_n
Kyla, yeah, I read that earlier today. I will withhold my opinion on this since it pertains to a fellow faculty.
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wahh…ano ba ito…ang laking issue naman kasi…
for me lang talaga…nanalo si ellie FAIR AND SQUARE so ano pa bang problema…
at kung tungkol dun sa dapat majority…bakit LAST YEAR hindi naman issue ito?? di ba ISANG vote lang ang LAMANG ni Chiara kay Jhunelle…the hell…
And honestly…parang immature nga yung mga tao…pero i understand them for their “reason” (walang S kasi isa lang naman ang reason kung bakit sila nagkakaganito…)….
Pero hindi pa rin tama na i-base mo ang pagpili ng candidate dahil lang sa ISANG BAGAY na iyon…kaya nga nanalo si ellie kasi cguro…some of us wants to try SOMETHING NEW…hay….
Ang gulo!
Whether Ellie won by 2 votes or by a landslide, she still won. Can Chiara not help the batch if she’s not president ?
The COMELEC has decided not to have a re-election, and Batch 2008 has to respect that. I guess despite all that has happened, the most important thing to do … is to learn from our experiences, and move on.
To all those who won in the recent election, my congratulations!
Batch 2008, throw your support to the newly elected officers for the next school year.
I think Chiara could still (and would still want to) help other people in her own (personal) capacity.
About Eda’s opinion TO TRY SOMETHING NEW, I would add that not only to the set of Batch Officers, but also to those who will be holding the Class President position next year. Some of your batchmates have that (leadership), just needs time and opportunity to unlock that potential.
and yeah…let’s give ellie a chance…she’s a really wonderful person…and she’s really responsible…i mean…i agree with kyla na maraming nagawa si chiara…kitang-kita naman eh…pero as Sir Alfer ALWAYS SAYS: “Change is the only constant thing in the world.”…we can’t always rely on her…dapat…matuto rin tayong maging “independent”…malay nyo…may mangyari…hehe! XD
I’m excited too see Leki and Lissan work with Ellie.
LOL.
That is if they don’t resign. …..LOL
if they resigned, that only means that they didn’t run to serve our batch…
they should learn how to get along each other…they should think of their responsibilities first before their personal issues…
otherwise, they don’t deserve our votes…
sorry…*get along WITH each other…i forget the with…
[...] blog became a sounding board for most of the controversies in the SA elections. It wasn’t a comfortable time for me but it was an incredible learning experience. I wouldn’t do it again though; we hope [...]