Sunday, August 14, 2005
THE FALLACY OF A NON-PARTISAN COMELEC
Right after the 1986 constitution had been ratified, I happened to catch an interview with an American Political Scientist (his name escapes me now though I would very much like to remember who he was) who came to observe the first elections under the new constitution. One of his observations had to do with the "non-partisan" composition of the Commission on Elections.
Comparing this to the partisan composition of the American equivalent of the COMELEC, he stated, "Our laws don't presume men to be angels."
Aptly said. Indeed, the composition of the COMELEC is now an important matter in light of "Gloriagate" or what the masa simply calls "Hello Garci?".
The Garci scandal has opened our minds to the possibility that our COMELEC commissioners are no angels (What, you actually thought they were?) who will decide election controversies with unquestionable impartiality. The mere fact that every commissioner has the same right to vote as every Filipino citizen already means that it is inherently impossible for them to be non-partisan in character. That our President may have called the Chairman during the elections underlines this situation. That we can have a trustworthy non-partisan COMELEC is a fallacious contention.
Let's face it, our COMELEC commissioners are "closet partisans" who will favor their candidates or those of the powers that be that appointed them. We might as well, or should I say, we ought to, adopt a system where the political parties are represented in the COMELEC.
In a two party system, the COMELEC would be divided right down the middle, e.g. Four LABAN commissioners and Four LAKAS commissioners. If they acted purely in the interests of a party, there would ALWAYS be a stalemate. Since even COMELEC commissioners should have some qualifications, we can safely presume that the commissioners would still be rational enough to understand that a perpetual stalemate would not be in the best interests of their parties and the people, hence, they will be forced to act in the best interests of the latter.
The mathematics are not as simple in a multiparty system, however. But some formula could be worked out that would ensure representation of all parties in the system. For example, raising the necessary number of votes to declare an election result valid from and instead of a simple majority. The end result is a COMELEC whose decisions the political parties will not be quick to question, as they are represented within the COMELEC, and which is beholden to the best interests, not of the political parties, but of the people.
Before anyone talks about amending the Constitution to adopt a federal form of government, maybe we should talk about changing the composition of the COMELEC first.
Comparing this to the partisan composition of the American equivalent of the COMELEC, he stated, "Our laws don't presume men to be angels."
Aptly said. Indeed, the composition of the COMELEC is now an important matter in light of "Gloriagate" or what the masa simply calls "Hello Garci?".
The Garci scandal has opened our minds to the possibility that our COMELEC commissioners are no angels (What, you actually thought they were?) who will decide election controversies with unquestionable impartiality. The mere fact that every commissioner has the same right to vote as every Filipino citizen already means that it is inherently impossible for them to be non-partisan in character. That our President may have called the Chairman during the elections underlines this situation. That we can have a trustworthy non-partisan COMELEC is a fallacious contention.
Let's face it, our COMELEC commissioners are "closet partisans" who will favor their candidates or those of the powers that be that appointed them. We might as well, or should I say, we ought to, adopt a system where the political parties are represented in the COMELEC.
In a two party system, the COMELEC would be divided right down the middle, e.g. Four LABAN commissioners and Four LAKAS commissioners. If they acted purely in the interests of a party, there would ALWAYS be a stalemate. Since even COMELEC commissioners should have some qualifications, we can safely presume that the commissioners would still be rational enough to understand that a perpetual stalemate would not be in the best interests of their parties and the people, hence, they will be forced to act in the best interests of the latter.
The mathematics are not as simple in a multiparty system, however. But some formula could be worked out that would ensure representation of all parties in the system. For example, raising the necessary number of votes to declare an election result valid from and instead of a simple majority. The end result is a COMELEC whose decisions the political parties will not be quick to question, as they are represented within the COMELEC, and which is beholden to the best interests, not of the political parties, but of the people.
Before anyone talks about amending the Constitution to adopt a federal form of government, maybe we should talk about changing the composition of the COMELEC first.
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