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Electoral
violence in Asia
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from
NAMFREL Election Monitor Vol.2, No.16
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The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) has recently released a report entitled "Understanding
Electoral Violence in Asia," focusing on the nature of electoral
violence in the region, as well as the factors that prevent or
perpetuate it. The report presents analysis of case studies
commissioned by UNDP in seven countries: Bangladesh, India,
Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
In the report, electoral violence is defined as:
"Any acts or threats of coercion, intimidation, or physical harm
perpetrated to affect an electoral process, or that arise in the
context of electoral competition. When perpetrated to affect an
electoral process, violence may be employed to influence the process
of elections
— such as efforts to delay, disrupt or derail a poll — or to
influence the outcomes: the determination of winners in competitive
races for political office, or securing the approval or disapproval
of referendum questions."
The report dissects the causes and enablers of electoral violence in
the region, and identifies the actors vital to its prevention or
perpetuation: electoral management bodies, political parties,
political party supporters, law enforcement agencies & security
forces, illicit armed groups, extremist groups, and youth & student
movements.
The UNDP has also identified factors that could prevent electoral
violence: institutional design, the legal system, electoral dispute
resolution, election observation & monitoring, among others.
For the Philippines, the report calls attention to the country's
weak party system, "that favours political dynasties composed of
families and close allies. Parties are often reduced to coalitions
of prevailing elites instead of offering inclusive, responsive and
responsible representation of civic interests. Unable to command
party discipline, leaders and government functionaries are induced
to gather legislative and local support through patronage,
privilege, pork barrelling and other forms of rent-seeking that can
easily spill over into electoral violence." The report also calls
attention to the proliferation of hired thugs and private armies
responsible for killings, physical attacks, and intimidation, and
the ways by which the government tries to prevent further violence
by identifying election hot spots and imposing gun ban.
The paper presents the following recommendations for the
Philippines: |
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There is a need to
professionalize Comelec by removing political appointees,
raising salaries, promoting
staffers on merit and training Comelec personnel. |
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Comelec should be given the necessary capability to enforce
election laws and prosecute violators. |
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The government should ensure that the perpetrators of
electoral violence are brought to justice, be they
civilians, politicians or government authorities. |
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The government must take proactive steps to dismantle and
disarm the private militias that proliferate
across the country. |
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The government should implement measures to improve
governance and reduce graft and corruption at
all levels. Much electoral violence is rooted in struggles
for illegal racketeering and patronage
opportunities to which government offices provide access. |
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The House Bill 3655, An Act Strengthening the Political
Party System, Appropriating Funds Therefor, and
for other Purposes, should be passed immediately to make
political parties more competitive and robust. |
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Once the bill is passed, the Commission on Audit should
examine the financial reports of the accredited parties on
their use of state subsidies |
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According to UNDP, cases of electoral
violence cited in the report (which includes the Maguindanao
massacre of 2009), "serve as reminders that in order for elections
to be successful and non-violent, the goal of democratic development
must go beyond the electoral event. Instead, seeing elections as a
test of democratic development, rather than a goal in themselves,
provides a better conceptualization of the processes that are needed
to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections.”
Read the UNDP report here:
http://bit.ly/nIGdJj |
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