Weather interfered with yesterday’s elections

The success of any elections is determined by two things. First and foremost is if it was a clean elections. Second, the percentage of the people that actually cast their votes.

In yesterday’s elections, we read two very ironic items. First was that the bad weather could prevent President Arroyo from going to her hometown in Lubao, Pampanga to cast her ballot. Second, was that the Sandiganbayan had approved ex-President Estrada’s request to allow him and his son Jinggoy to vote in their detention cell. If Estrada can vote in his cell, why couldn’t President Arroyo cast her vote in Malacañang? The impression will be that Erap in jail is a more conscientious voter than President Arroyo in Malacañang.

As we predicted in the previous column, the weather forced the postponement of yesterday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in many areas in Metro Manila and Central Luzon and in the provinces of Abra and Pangasinan. But even in other places, many voters literally had to wade in the water in order to practice their right of suffrage. It is unreasonable to ask the authorities to hold elections during the dry season or at the very least, not during the typhoon season. We should be encouraging people to vote. By compelling them to vote during bad weather, we actually discouraged their participation. Yesterday was the first Sangguniang Kabataan elections. What impression have we given those young voters by forcing them to vote under dire weather conditions? What a way to initiate them to electing responsible leaders.

A special non-working holiday had to be declared for yesterday’s elections. Now, another special non-working holiday will have to be declared in the 238 barangays where the elections had to be postponed.

We have only two seasons in the Philippines: six months of wet and six months of dry weather. Any public affair that involves outdoor exposure should, if possible, be held between November and April. We cannot change the dates of celebrations because they mark important events that happened on the particular day. Even when it comes to religious fiestas, the ones that are the most successful are the ones that fall during fair-weather days.

We hope that the people in charge of the barangays and Sangguniang Kabataan elections learn from yesterday’s experience. We write this precisely because we want elections to be a success and success means the participation of the great majority of voters. We are making plans to make even Filipinos abroad participate in our local national elections. It will be ironic if we deprive local voters of that right on account of bad weather. If we cannot have efficient elections on the barangay level, how can we have them in a town, city or national level?