The Right of Suffrage

The Right of
Suffrage
LESSON 12
“ A vote is like a rifle: its
usefulness depends upon
the character of the
user”.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Election
•- it is one common event in which the
masses have a direct influence on
politics and governance.
Right to vote
• - also known as the right of suffrage
- It is very important to various minority groups in

different countries throughout history because of the
direct and immediate impact of each vote on the
whole political system.
Vote
-It represents the voice of the people, so
the people must really guard the election
process and protect their right to vote.
 One of the greatest powers of the people is the ability to
choose who will lead them, who will represent them, and
who will run the government.
 Such power is manifested by the people exercising their
right to vote during elections.
 The right is not actually passing the responsibility of
governance to the politicians and then solely blaming
them if things go wrong with country.
Elected Officials
•- they must serve as “representatives of
the people and are thus served with the
corresponding responsibility”
(Defensor-Santiago 2002):
The right to vote, also known as the right of suffrage,
is stated in Section 1, Article V of the 1987
Constitution:
Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines
not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least 18 years
of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at
least 6 months immediately preceding the election. No
literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be
imposed on the exercise of suffrage.
Suffrage
- It encompasses not only the process of
selecting public officers but also the
“expression of the choice of people on a
proposed law or enactment submitted to them
for decision” (Ramirez 1969).
The right of suffrage is not a natural right but a privilege, it can be
with held in cases that privilege becomes detrimental to others and
the system as a whole.
Under Section 2 of Article V, the Congress shall be the one to

formulate the processes to help maintain the secrecy of the ballots
as well as the procedure for the disabled and the illiterates to vote
without the assistance of other persons.
The Commission on the Elections (COMELEC) is the agency that
enforces and administers all laws and regulations relative to the
conduct of election in the country. The functions of the
COMELEC based on Section 2, Article IX-C of the 1987
Constitution are as follows:
1. Enforce and administer all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of and elections,
plebiscite, initiative, referendum, and recall.
2. Exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all contests relating to the elections, returns, and
qualifications of all elective regional, provincial, and city officials, and appellate jurisdiction over
all contests involving elective municipal officials decided by trial courts of general jurisdiction, or
involving elective barangay official decided by trial courts of limited jurisdiction.
3. Decide, except those involving the right to vote, all questions
affecting elections, including determination of the number and
location of polling places, appointment of election officials and
inspectors, and registration of voters.
4. Deputize, with the concurrence of the President, law
enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of the Government,
including the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the exclusive
purposes of ensuring free, orderly, honest, peaceful credible
elections.
5. Register, after sufficient publication, political parties, organizations, of
coalitions which, in addition to other requirements, must present their
platform or program of government; and accredit citizens’ arms of the
Commission on Elections.
6. File, upon a verified complaint, or on its own initiative, petitions in
court for inclusion or exclusion of voters; investigate and, where
appropriate, prosecute cases of violations of elections laws, including acts
or omission constituting election frauds, offenses, and malpractices.
7. Recommend to the Congress effective measures to minimize election spending,
including limitation of places where propaganda materials shall be posted, and to
prevent and penalize all forms o election frauds, offenses, malpractices, and
nuisance candidates.
8. Recommend to the President the removal of any officer or employee it has
deputized , or the imposition of any other disciplinary action, for violation or
disregard of, or disobedience to its directive, order, or decision.
9. Submit to the President and the Congress a comprehensive report on the
conduct of each election, plebiscite, initiative, referendum, or recall.
Plurality electoral system
• - first-past-the-post or winner-takes-all-election
• - The winner is one with the most votes whether they
had the majority or not (King 2000).
• - To clarify things, majority means 50% of all votes
plus at least1 more vote (50% 1).
Majority electoral system
• - the winner must get at least 50% + 1 vote.
• - In case no one us able to reach the cut-off,
another round of election will be done with
either all the original candidates or only a
selected few based on the criteria (like top 5,
averaging, etc.) (King 2000)
Proportional representation
• - the people vote for parties and each party
will be given the same or almost the same
percentage of positions in the government as
the percentage of votes they garnered during
the elections (King 2000).
THANK YOUUU
FOR
LISTENINGGGG
!

The Right of Suffrage

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Right of Suffrage

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Right of Suffrage

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Right of

- It is very important to various minority groups in

Under Section 2 of Article V, the Congress shall be the one to

You might also like