Democracy as karma

BY ANTONIO CONTRERAS      MAY 18, 2019

IF there is something that the recently concluded midterm elections have shown, it is that we have a vibrant democracy. It may not be perfect, but we have its rituals firmly intact, from people freely exercising their right to vote to critics freely exercising their right to demean and insult, calling “bobotante” anyone whose choices they disagree with.

This early, we see supporters of the opposition maligning the election results. A series of protest rallies in several locations in the UP System was immediately called just a day after the elections. I see posts now questioning the straight lines that they allege have characterized the votes for the winning senatorial candidates, thereby appropriating the same logic which many of us raised against the votes of then vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo in the 2016 elections. Suspicions have been raised about the delay in the transmission of the national tally to the transparency server on the evening of May 13. And another suspicious glitch was eyed when the national tally which already reached 92.89 prcent of the election returns suddenly dropped to 49.76 percent.

During the elections, over a thousand incidents of malfunctioning vote counting machines and SD cards were reported. Low quality markers were also the subject of many complaints.

Indeed, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has to be taken to task for many of these glitches and problems. It is really unforgivable that this is supposed to be the fourth automated national elections and the Comelec has not learned, and somewhat perfected the system, or at the very least minimized the glitches, errors and mismanagement. It is about time we re-examine the process, and hold accountable those responsible for those glitches and errors. It wouldn’t even be too much to demand that some heads must roll. Four elections marred by procedural and technical troubles is simply too much.

As to the alleged straight lines which were exhibited by the voter tallies, unfortunately there is no reliable time-series data from where to draw a meaningful analysis, considering that what we have is the initial partial unofficial tally released just after 6 p.m. of May 13, and then the one released early on May 14 after over 90 percent of the election returns had already been tallied. Hence, it is but natural that a straight line will be drawn for every candidate since there are only 2 points to connect. Whatever the behavior of votes that came after the second release would have already reflected a firmly established trend. The shifting of the ranks of Koko Pimentel, Bong Revilla and Nancy Binay would be attributed to the fact that the margins that separated them were small, and it would be understandable that these would be sensitive to changes from the influx of votes from different areas in the country.

But if there is anything that would dispel any allegations of massive fraud, it would be the fact that unlike in the 2016 vice presidential race, the results of the 2019 senatorial race were consistent with the most recent pre-election survey conducted by Pulse Asia. In 2016, all pre-election surveys showed that Bongbong Marcos was ahead of Leni Robredo. In fact, exit polls also indicated the same trend. The fact that the actual results were different opened up a lot of reasonable doubt on the credibility of the outcome.

By contrast, the Pulse Asia survey has correctly projected the top 12 candidates for the 2019 Senate race, except for some changes in the rankings of Francis Tolentino and Bong Revilla.

It must also be pointed out that the opposition Otso Diretso, while suffering a wipe-out in the national tally, performed well in areas where they would logically draw more votes, like Naga City and Camarines Sur which are the bailiwicks of the vice president. Hence, supporters of the political opposition could not on one hand praise the results in these areas, almost edifying the Bicolano voter as the smartest voter, yet malign the overall national results where returns from other areas whose choices were different were able to swamp the outpouring of support from the Bicolanos.

They now sing paeans to the Bicolano voter, effectively forgetting that these voters also helped place Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla, two candidates they strongly abhor, in the winning circle.

This is the problem with the political opposition. Consistency appears to be a rare attribute with them. They are now quick to condemn the results and allege the prevalence of fraud, and yet they are the very same people who never raised a howl of protest in 2016 when evidence was piling up showing the possible existence of electoral fraud. Even when Glenn Chong and others were already revealing documented evidence, they remained unmoved and unconvinced. I should know. I was trolled by these very same people when I was busy disclosing the data anomalies that attended the 2016 vice presidential race.

Right now, I can only be amused at the gnashing of teeth, the wailing and moaning, and the threats of migrating which I read in social media, and hear from friends. I can only watch them act as if the entire political landscape has been incinerated. It is certainly their right to express their dissatisfaction. But we wish that they would be consistent, so that they can at least deserve our sympathy.

Democracy is not just about getting the results that we like. Having the rituals of elections does not ensure that democracy is indeed of good quality. The kind of politicians that emerge as winners only reflect the long road we need to travel in order to make our democratic rituals truly meaningful. This would require a lot of critical thinking, and an appreciation of the danger that if we keep being consumed by hate towards voices we do not like, democracy will always bring bad karma upon us.

https://www.manilatimes.net/democracy-as-karma/556294/