The Antinomy of Civil Society-Dependent Electoral Governance in the Philippines: Implications for Democratic Consolidation

Abstract

Electoral governance that secures the implementation of free and fair elections has been largely sustained by nonpartisan civic organizations in the Philippines. However, in recent years, the electoral integrity that they have eagerly protected has been increasingly questioned, which has jeopardized democratic consolidation. In this situation, their activities need to be examined in detail in terms of democratic consolidation. By analyzing their major activities related to electoral governance, this article will prove that they have powerfully supported electoral governance and contributed to maintaining a certain level of electoral integrity. However, given the unfilled gap between democratic institutions and practices, the excessive dependence of electoral governance on civic organizations contains the potential risk of jeopardizing the integrity of elections due to the hegemonic interests of the dominant bloc supporting the organizations, and can thereby damage democratic consolidation. Nonetheless, the activities of these organizations will probably continue to be indispensable, because the Commission on Elections alone cannot protect free and fair elections, and their disappearance would therefore threaten democratic consolidation. This is a dilemma of democratic consolidation faced by the Philippines.