UNLIKE LAST year, the recently concluded Sanggunian General Elections was not a showdown between color-themed coalitions.
Instead, IsaBuhay IsaGawa-Agila (IBIG-Agila), the oldest student political party, went head-to -head with the year-old Alliance of Student Leaders (ASL) and the newly-formed Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada).
However, more than the bout between the three political formations, this year’s elections has been characterized by the shortcomings of the Ateneo Commission on Elections (Comelec), the supposed violations of certain candidates, and the newfound prominence of social media.
Comelec’s mistakes
Last year, Comelec drew flak for misprinting ballots, implementing ambiguous policies, and delaying the opening of voting stations. This year, the criticisms hurled at Comelec intensified.
Some blunders committed include the late release of the candidates’ manual and the ‘corrected’ official list of candidates, which was full of inaccuracies.
Comelec also failed to organize a general assembly for the candidates and to address the queries posted on its Facebook page.
As a result of these issues, IBIG-Agila, ASL and Crusada filed a joint petition on February 5. The petition obliged Comelec to meet with the parties to discuss possible remedies, hold a general assembly for candidates, stop candidates from posting campaign materials and stamp the already posted materials with Comelec’s mark of approval and publicize the process of procuring the election automation equipment.
Come the Miting de Avance, however, Comelec was further lambasted for delaying the program because the venue was set up late. Speeches of several candidates were cut short as a result.
Moreover, during the election proper, Comelec was disparaged for the lack of instructions, the lack of voting privacy safeguards, and the technical glitches in the automated election.
The three political groups joined forces again to petition an election extension due to the “possibility of some units not reaching their required number of votes.”
This fear, which proved to be true later on for the School of Humanities, arose after a computation by concerned parties showed that the two-day voting period was not sufficient to accommodate all the students.
Mudslinging, violations
The candidates were also the center of many electoral controversies. This year’s elections was marred by mudslinging and allegations of dirty tactics, with reports of candidates overstaying at poll stations and urging students to vote for themselves, or to not vote for their opponents.
Accusations ranged from campaign material vandalizing to alleged coercion by certain parties. These allegations climaxed when Crusada stated that the group would pursue legal action against Vice President-elect Gio Alejo for “unlawful electioneering.”
Online political arena
While Comelec braced itself for the first ever automated General Elections, the student body also went digital for the polls.
A big mover during the elections was the online Facebook group, Sanggu Bantay Halalan 2011. It was established early February by junior Anna Margarita San Pedro, who described the group to be an avenue for students to assess the candidates “beyond their campaign and Miting de Avance.”
Because of the various election setbacks and violations, the reputation of the Sanggunian and the Comelec has been dented even more. However, for San Pedro, the Facebook group name Bantay Halalan pertains to guarding of votes even beyond the elections.
“It’s a matter of ensuring that the candidates deliver and accomplish whatever their positions entail. I believe it’s only after that wherein we will be able to say that our votes were truly guarded.”
For a more detailed account of this year’s General Elections, visit http://blueballot.theguidon.com
