It says a lot about the state of the country’s party system that several of the leading contenders for the posts of president and vice president are not running under their traditional political parties.
And the party declared by the Commission on Elections as the dominant majority has no official standard bearer and running mate, although the two factions are supporting rival tandems. Days before the elections, the Comelec at least has finally resolved the question of which faction of the dominant majority PDP-Laban will get official recognition.
The Comelec is also clear on the dominant minority, the Nacionalista Party, which like the majority PDP-Laban will get copies of election returns and certificates of canvass. The dominant majority and minority parties get priority in posting watchers at the polling precincts and canvassing centers. Meanwhile, the Comelec recognized 10 major national parties, which will also get copies of the ERs and COCs.
It’s bad enough that political parties in this country do not stand for anything, and often have the same stand on controversial issues. This weakness has reinforced the personality-driven rather than issues-driven selection of candidates by voters during elections. Certain candidates in the current race have further set back efforts to promote an informed vote by confining themselves to talks with friendly interviewers.
Because there are no strong parties to speak of, there is also no censure for jumping from one party to another, or forming one for election expediency. There are no turncoats if there are no parties to speak of. The weakness of political parties has also complicated efforts to streamline or regulate campaign finance, and to make campaigning much less expensive to level the playing field.
With the conduct of the current campaign in mind, the next Congress should consider reforms in the party system that can be carried out even without the need for constitutional amendment. Like the party-list, the multiparty system has been abused and is urgently in need of reforms.