During the last day of the Student Council Elections (SCE) 2024, a huge spike in votes surmounted what could have been a step back in the local council’s goal to #NagkakaisangCOCians. From concerns over huge abstention rates and electoral participation below the quorum, the success of the new student council hangs over the shaky recognition from its college.
With 2,544 voters, the College of Communication (COC) managed to reach a voter’s turnout of 878 ballots (excluding invalid ones), translating to only 40% of the voting population. Although higher than the previous year’s 35% count, the student participation rate remains to be in dire straits.
Steep decline to sharp recline
In a span of four days, the polls saw a sharp decline in political participation from COCians after only receiving a total of 517 votes from the studentry—much to the alarm of the incumbent council. After all, during the previous elections, the valid ballots reached a total of 800.
As such, the council has employed last-minute methods to ensure that every block voted during the fifth and final day. According to the data provided by the PUP Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the polls have seen an amazing increase in numbers by the end of the elections, shooting up by 494 votes to a total of 1008, or 878 if excluding invalid ballots.
“Bilang parte ng nakaraang termino, saksi ako kung paano in-ensure ng PUP COC Student Council na maabot talaga iyong mga COCian at mahikayat na bumoto,” COC SC president-elect Tracy Althea Ramos commented on the matter.
“Nakapaglabas ito ng announcement sa opisyal nitong Facebook page na bukod sa panghihikayat na bumoto ay direkta nang nakalagay iyong link at QR code ng ballot. Nakita ko rin na pinuspos talaga na matiyak na naibababa ang anunsyong ito sa bawat klase para rin masiguro na aware ang bawat isa na may kasalukuyang nangyayaring eleksyon at dapat nilang i-exercise iyong karapatan nila sa pagboto,” Ramos added.
Similarly, COMELEC outgoing chair Gad Mendiola has stated that while they can not provide a definite response to the spike, he believes that the local efforts to maximize participation in the election could have affected the turnout.
Does quorum matter?
While the recent elections succeeded to supersede the previous year’s count, the fact remains that only 878 voted, or 40% of the body participated in the polls, notwithstanding the abstentions that also remain worrisome.
Similar to the national elections, the university electoral process follows a plurality system to determine winners. This means whoever receives the most votes wins the race, regardless of quorum.
“Kung pagbabasehan iyong [voters’] turnout sa kagaganap lamang na eleksyon, masasabi natin na nakababahala siya. Alarming iyong lack of political participation. Hindi dahil parte ako ng SAMASA, na isa sa mga tumakbo, kundi dahil regardless sa kung sinong tumatakbo, ang student council elections kasi ang platform para sa pagpapatambol ng kampanya ng mga estudyante. Kaya iyong lack of participation ay maaaring magbunga ng lack of unification,” Ramos explained.
Compared to the previous election’s 2,458 voters, an increment of 86 people bumped the voter population to 2,544 by 2024. However, from 800 votes last year, the current polls only received an additional 78 voters, making the results still as dire despite the council’s efforts to maximize participation.
Still, Ramos believes that the elections remain valid despite the results.
“Masasabi natin na ‘valid’ ang votes dahil kinikilala natin ang desisyon ng mga Iskolar ng Bayan na hindi ako student council president dahil ako lang ang tumakbo, kundi SC president ako dahil may nagluklok sa akin sa pwesto, regardless kung ilan ‘yan. Dagdag pa riyan, masasabi natin na ang boses ng isa, tatlo, o sampu ay boses pa rin ng mga indibidwal na gusto nating pagsilbihan. Maging iyong mga hindi bumoto o hindi tayo binoto ay pagsisilbihan pa rin naman natin.”
Interpreting abstentions
Perhaps the biggest surprise in this year’s local election is the participation of two independent candidates Rinoa Kate Dela Cruz and John Elsisura—who both racked top counts as councilors in the recent race, 667 and 601 votes, respectively.
This signifies a trend that vies away from political powerhouse SAMASA—with this year’s president and vice president-elects garnering numbers only almost equal to their previous counterparts, yet also pulling a higher abstention count.
While the councilor-elects received a smaller abstention count, from 87 to 56, it can also be attributed to the independent candidates as the SAMASA councilorial candidates pulled significantly lower votes compared to last year.
Passing the torch
The lower numbers from the SAMASA-COC slate could be attributed to the performance of the previous student council, one stifled by resignations and inactivity of its councilors, leaving the team challenged to resolve concerns of the studentry.
In addition, an eight-day campaign period is also contestable due to the lack of time to truly acknowledge the presence of the candidates. This stands true to both the candidates and the studentry: the room-to-room (RTR) campaigns are usually turned ineffective due to the lack of participation from the students as attendance is voluntary.
The dilemma lies in the truth that no matter how much the candidates try to get the studentry as involved as possible, there are many factors that could disrupt participation, especially due to time constraints. Thus, the lack of exposure translates into lower numbers reflected on the electoral results.
Still, hope shines for the newly-elected president to reinvigorate the political scene and truly unite the college under one banner.
“Diyan din nag-uugat iyong kagustuhan natin na sa susunod na eleksyon ay mas mapataas pa ang [voters’] turnout sa SCE kung kaya naka-mode naman talaga ang kasalukuyang konseho na maglunsad ng mga pag-aaral at mga proyekto na makatutulong sa pagkamit nito, at talagang mas mapagana ‘yong konseho bilang isang konsehong tumutugon sa mga pangangailangan at concerns ng mga estudyante, para alam nila iyong kahalagahan ng pagkakaroon ng isang konsehong magsisilbing representante nila sa pagpapatambol ng kanilang mga panawagan,” Ramos promised.
Among their platforms for the term include educational sessions emphasizing the right to vote, particularly with the upcoming 2025 nationwide midterm elections.
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