Descriptive Statistics: An Overview of Statistics and Probability | STAT 211, Study notes, Schemes and Mind Maps of Port Engineering

Download Descriptive Statistics: An Overview of Statistics and Probability | STAT 211, Study notes and more Schemes and Mind Maps Port Engineering in PDF only on Docsity! C H R I S T O P H E R C A P U L T e a c h e r I I / H U M S S ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES LESSON 10 (PART 2) A N A L Y Z E T H E N A T U R E O F E L E C T I O N S A N D P O L I T I C A L P A R T I E S I N T H E P H I L I P P I N E S LEARNING COMPETENCY POLITICAL PARTY A political party is a group of people that is formally organized for the purpose of winning government power through electoral or other means. POLITICAL PARTY The political party is the major organizing principle of modern politics. It links the state and civil society, the institutions of the government, and the groups and interests that operate within society (Heywood 2013). They aim to exercise government power by winning seats in the government. They are formally organized bodies with “card carrying” membership. Membership involves taking of formal oath. They adopt a broad issue focus and address major areas of government policy. They are united by shared political preferences and ideological identity to varying degrees. CHARACTERISTICS OF POLITICAL PARTIES Political parties provide a training ground for politicians. It is through these groups that politicians become equipped with skills, knowledge, and experience needed in carrying out their functions. Parties then provide leaders for the state. In the Philippines, as in elsewhere, these political parties train their members to become future presidents, if not to occupy high positions in the government. ELITE FORMATION AND RECRUITMENT Political parties are seen as means through which societies set collective goals. They formulate governmental programs in the process of seeking governmental power. Political parties, thus, become a source of policy initiation and provide the electorate a choice of realistic and achievable goals. Whatever policies are carried out in the Philippines are a product of these parties. It is thus important for a democracy, like in the country, to have a healthy opposition that provides policy alternatives to those carried out by the dominant party. GOAL FORMULATION Political parties help articulate various interests in a society by developing collective goals. These interests are then aggregated into a coherent whole, balancing competing interests against each other. As with the previous example, political parties in the Philippines are expected to be the voice of the people who supported them. In the House of Representatives or in the Senate, officials who are members of different political parties engage in discussions to aggregate the varying interests of people. INTEREST ARTICULATION AND AGGREGATION PARTY SYSTEM the complex relationship between parties which helps in the structuring of the political system. distinguishing the types of party systems based on: the number of parties competing for political power size of parties relative to their electoral and legislative strength something with how parties relate to each other, that is, whether there is cooperation, consensus, or conflict among them ONE-PARTY SYSTEM Only one party dominates and there is no political competition between parties. Single- party systems are characterized by the oppression of democratic freedom. Example is China and its Communist Party TWO-PARTY SYSTEM Two parties primarily dominate the political landscape and smaller parties only play a subordinate role. Example is USA which has Republican and Democrat CURRENT STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM The structure of the current electoral system is provided in the 1987 Constitution and the Omnibus Election Code. The COMELEC is given the task to enforce election laws and exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the qualifications of candidates, accreditation of political parties, and canvassing of votes. The 1987 Constitution provides that the three branches of the government are separate and equal. The president and the vice president are elected separately by a direct vote of the people. Under the simple plurality method, the candidates with the highest number of votes will be proclaimed winners (first-past- the-post system). Both officials are to serve for a term of six years. The maximum terms, qualifications, and functions were already discussed in lesson 6. Of the 250 members of the House of Representatives, 200 are elected through district proportional representation, while 50 are elected from party-lists on a proportional basis. Partylists are closed list (meaning, the people vote for the political party as a whole) and election of the representative is based on the candidates’ placement in the party slate (Velasco 2006). Under the Party-List Act (RA 7941), seats are allocated at one seat per 2% of the votes obtained. Only a maximum of three seats are allowed per party. Unallocated seats shall be distributed among the other parties that have not yet obtained the maximum of three seats (provided that they have reached 2% of votes). Within three years following the return of every census, the Congress shall make a reapportion of legislative districts based on the standards provided in Article VI, Section 5. Population growth is thus a factor in such increase in the number of representatives. Apart from population growth, another reason for the increase of seats is due to several contestations on the Party-List Act. Meanwhile, the 1991 Local Government Code governs elections for local government officials. The punong barangay, vice mayor, mayor, vice governor, and governor are elected in their respective localities through a plurality vote (first-past-the-post system). The members of the local assemblies (e.g., city and municipal councils and the provincial board) are elected by district and through a plurality vote. Members of the barangay or village assembly are elected at large in their areas. The local government officials are to serve a maximum of three consecutive three- year terms (Teehankee 2002). https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=RLBG-pYonYg Villanueva, P.A. (2017). Philippine Politics and Governance. Makati City, Philippines: DIWA LEARNING SYSTEMS, INC. Self Learning Module by Department of Education - Region III REFERENCES