The Philippine Elections 2010: The Nation Awaits

The Philippines had its first automated elections last May 10, 2010. For the first time, the Filipinos had a taste of a computerised tallying of votes, in contrast to the previous elections wherein the voter has to write ALL his chosen candidates on the ballot. With one presidential position, one vice-presidential post, 12 senatorial slots, a slot for governorship, congressman, mayor, vice-mayor and a few more to vote for, the voter is faced with the dilemma of having to write at least 15 names on his ballot. Simply having to shade circles has made things easier for the voter and has even given a good number of disabled citizens a chance to exercise their right of suffrage.

At this point, nearly 80% of election returns have been accounted for. The presidential race shows Noynoy Aquino, the son of Corazon Aquino, first woman President of the Republic, roughly 5 million votes ahead of former President Joseph Estrada who was deposed last 2001 and jailed because of unsettled cases of plunder. The vice-presidential race is tighter, with the top two candidates only a few hundred thousand votes apart from one another.

This has been another interesting election as yet, being the first automated election in Philippine history. Aside from that, though, the profiles of the candidates are equally beguiling. The presidential candidates alone are a study of personality and background contrasts. A son of a former President, a former President himself who was charged with plunder, a senator who during his stint in the congress was responsible for elevating the impeachment case against the said former president to the senate, a cabinet member of the present administration, and a leader of a Christian movement, among others.

Outside the race for the top slots the view is a lot more mind-boggling. A world boxing champ running for congressman, the present (yep, the incumbent) President of the Philippine Republic running for a seat in the congress, wife of a gambling lord, athletes, many show business personalities...the list goes on and on.

Elections in this side of the world often conjure images of fraud and violence, such as ballot box snatching, killings on either side of the political fence, and vote- buying. Such occurrences still occur but so far the publicised incidents have not been as much compared to the past elections.

The Philippines is sorely in need of a massive overhaul. It is a witness to political upheavals, economic and moral degradation, and financial depreciation. The turn-out of this year's elections reflect the faith that the Filipinos still have in the democratic process, and a desire for REAL change.

Hopefully both the elected and the rest of the nation are ready for this change.

Sources and photo of PCOS machine from this and this site.