The right of suffrage

It surely has been an interesting past few months. This happens of course every time there is an election. We see how the politicians angle themselves, present themselves, and position themselves and then we take in all that information and we decide who we feel is best suited to represent us in the government. It is an age-old tradition and being a part of the process of voting is our civic duty.

By definition, the right of suffrage (from the Latin word suffragium, meaning “vote”) is the right of the people to choose their officials as their representatives, for a definite and fixed period, to whom they entrust the exercise of the powers of government. In essence, it means the right to elect officials who we feel will best serve the country in their time in office. It’s not just a right but also a big responsibility and one that is entrusted to every citizen (of voting age) in the country.

And last Monday, May 13, we exercised this right as we trooped to the polls and placed our votes for the officials that will serve in our Senate and several other positions in the government for the coming years. As expected it was not an easy process – some people had to wait for hours just to get their turn — while others experienced technical problems with the voting machines and had to decide if they were going to stay and wait to submit their ballots personally or “entrust” them to the official at the polls. But it was something we all went through together as a nation in the hope that our choices will make a difference.

Indeed, while overall it may not have been the most convenient process, it is something we all have a duty to participate in. When it comes to the government, the people are never lacking in complaints. They want to see changes in the economy, in healthcare, in education, and much more. They want to see real changes happen in the country. However, how can we be expected to achieve real change if we don’t take part in the vehicle that can help us bring that change about?

I often feel that things have remained the same in our country because we have allowed them to for so many years. We’ve become complacent and even lazy when it comes to electing our leaders and therefore, we allow them to continue doing a mediocre job. If we really want to see real change, we have to be a part of the process.

Before the elections this year, my family made sure to research the stands of the candidates on at least the most basic of policies – education and healthcare were some of my top concerns. Other important things we kept in mind included candidates’ stance on Reproductive Health Law, Cybercrime Law, Death Penalty, and Total Gun Ban just to name a few. Knowing how a candidate stands on the issues helps when it comes to choosing who you want to see in office. In fact, my daughter told me that there were several illustrated infographs going around the social media networks that illustrated where senatorial candidates placed themselves when it came to the issues. Hopefully this helped people see how their choices positioned themselves and would probably continue to do so when in office.

To be sure, social media played a big part in the elections this year. Each year it seems this vehicle is getting stronger and stronger when it comes to getting a candidate’s message out. However, although quite popular in the Philippines, the public, en masse, are not necessarily getting their information from social media sites and are still more prone to vote for candidates who woo them in person with political promises, campaign gifts, or impressive last names.

I have found that through this particular election, sites such as Facebook and Twitter, while entertaining with their assortment of inventive political memes are not necessarily an accurate reflection of the country’s desires as a whole. It seems to show more of a smaller socialized group’s opinions. Take for example, a certain senatorial candidate who has been repeatedly under fire on these social networking sites. Though this candidate has received the ire of social netizens, the candidate was immediately and easily within the top 10 senators right after the polls closed. It just proves that while these sites are a great way to disseminate information, they may not necessarily be counted on to enact social conscience and change, at least not yet.

They are, however, good for keeping up to date about the latest news. During the elections last Monday, people were looking to Facebook and Twitter to see which election areas were having problems, what the latest news was, and following the entire process through hashtags like #elections2013 and #halalan. My daughter, who had to wait over a few hours at the polls, told me that Facebook and Twitter kept her company while she waited to hand in her ballot. And let us not forget the barrage of photos that flooded the Internet of the inked up fingers of citizens who were proud to be able to do their civic duty.

This year, Comelec has predicted a 70% voter turn out and that is good, but it should be even higher than that. I feel that the group of educated voters makes up such a small percent of the total that we should not be surprised at all how certain candidates get elected despite a horrible track record. I understand that it is inconvenient and some people are extremely jaded by the whole process. There are even some who claim they did not vote because there is simply no one they want to vote for. That’s a convenient excuse and no reason to not contribute to our nation’s future. Optimistically speaking, the officials put into office by the May 13 elections will be the ones to push progress forward and make a brighter future for the country.

I feel that election has gone off as well as we could have hoped for. Though there are still stories of armed gunmen being apprehended and bags of cash being confiscated and people getting into scuffles and fights, I feel that overall, it was a smooth process. Let’s hope it stays that way once the votes are truly finalized and the results announced. If there is one thing I always notice about Filipinos it is that we tend not to accept election results graciously and cry foul when our choices do not make the cut.

The time for promises is over and the die has been cast so to speak. By week’s end we will have our newly elected officials. My hat goes off to the many men and women who dedicated their time and passion to the election process this year. However jaded we may be, there still remains the hope of something better and that alone makes it worth it to stand in line for hours in the heat just to be able to participate. Even if those you chose did not make it after the official count, you did your part and let your voice be heard and that is enough reason to be proud.