One trend that might be good for politicians but bad for democracy is how political “alliances” have allowed many local officials to run unopposed in this part of the world.
Running unopposed may be a politician’s wet dream but a nightmare for their constituents if you come to think of it. First of all, politicos that are able to game the system through “alliances,” agreements and horse trading defeat the purpose of elections and a democracy. They get to perpetuate themselves in power but we are deprived of choices.
In an ideal world, the best way for an elected official to keep their post is to perform their job exceptionally well. These public servants who deliver services properly, govern righteously and without any whiff of corruption, and have an inspiring vision for their towns, cities or provinces are the ones who deserve to be reelected.
However, in our current world where power-centric public servants have somehow managed to wrangle together a “super party” where the members of their exclusive club can negotiate among each other how they intend to stay in power and for how long, a stellar performance in the realm of public service has ceased to become their driving force as far as elections are concerned. All they need to do is be in the right group and as the past few rounds of local elections have demonstrated, it is possible to negotiate your way into a position of a guaranteed electoral win.
We didn’t see it coming and if you come to think of it, there was absolutely nothing we could’ve done to stop or discourage it, but it is now obvious that the United Alliances of politicos who claim to Love their land ultimately only serve the interests of those who get to run for office virtually unopposed.
As constituents, don’t gain anything when politicos gain the power to negotiate election results among themselves. Aside from not even getting to have our votes bought, there is also no longer any incentive for the politicos to perform to a high degree in order to impress their constituents. They can just do enough to meet the bare minimum requirements for public service and spend the rest of their time ensuring that the alliances and agreements they made remain intact for the next 3 years.
We might not gain anything from how they’ve successfully gamed the system, and those of us who have been deprived of choices might not be able to do anything about as far as coming elections are concerned since the certificates of candidacies have already been filed and issued, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it.
For my part, unless the candidate concerned has done something extraordinary while in power over the past three to six years, I’ve been considering not voting for any unopposed candidate on my ballot. These politicians who are virtually unopposed will win the election anyway but as a Filipino who feels like the democratic process is being gamed, I would like to make my disappointment known by not casting a vote for them.
An unopposed candidate may still surely win an election, but as voters, we still have an opportunity to remind them of who is the boss in a democracy if by our conscious action they earn a low number of votes despite running without a viable opponent.
Aside from reminding them that their horse trading racket is not appreciated, boycotting an unopposed candidate also allows us to show displeasure or disgust towards their leanings and tendencies which can be derived from their choice of platform and the type of candidates they support.
If you come to think of it, the beauty of running unopposed is that the candidate should be free to focus on their constituents instead of politics. I’d wouldn’t hesitate voting for an unopposed candidate if I could see that their priorities really lie with their town/city and constituents. However, what is happening on the ground is that our unopposed candidates are too busy protecting and prioritizing their own interests by forming even more alliances with all kinds of politicos who they think can strengthen their grip on power and build their dynasty.
In my book, the worst kind of candidate is one who is already assured of a win but still finds a way to sell their soul to a national party or candidate that they feel will further their own personal interests, which is to stay in power as long as possible. These are the candidates I refuse to vote for in the coming elections because even if they are already sure-wins, this is a way to make my displeasure known.
Those who agree with me on this are free to do the same. We might not kick them out of power, but hopefully our friendly and well-meaning reminder can get through to them, knock these politicos to their senses, and hopefully result in slightly better public servants that are good for our country instead of being good for themselves and their alliance-mates only.*
