By the numbers: Candidates in the 2016 elections

Gerard Lim

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By the numbers: Candidates in the 2016 elections
How many candidates are running in this year's polls? How many are unopposed? Rappler gives you the key figures

MANILA, Philippines – With Filipinos set to cast their ballots just two weeks from now, Rappler takes a look at the composition of the candidates in the 2016 elections.

Based on Comelec Resolution 10002, signed on October 13, 2015, there are 18,083 positions up for grabs in this year’s polls.

The number of candidates, though, is much higher – 44,871.

Elective position Number of positions Number of candidates
President 1 5
Vice President 1 6
Senator 12 50
Party-list representatives 59 seats 115 groups / 673 nominees
District representatives 238 634
Governors 81 275
Vice governors 81 206
Provincial board members 776 1,813
City mayors 145 407
City vice mayors 145 350
City councilors 1,624 3,996
Municipal mayors 1,489 3,751
Municipal vice mayors 1,489 3,446
Sangguniang Bayan members 11,916 29,741
ARMM regional governor 1 4
ARMM regional vice governor 1 4
ARMM regional assemblymen 24 68
TOTAL 18,083 44,871

 

There are 673 nominees across the 115 party-list groups, but these nominees are not voted for directly. Each voter only votes for one party list. (READ: 2016 party-list representatives: Taking a ‘shortcut’ to Congress?)

National race record

With so many candidates vying for the same positions, the elections can be quite tight. Since 1992, no fewer than 4 candidates have fought for the two top government posts.

A presidential candidate has yet to be voted by a majority.

For instance, in the 1992 elections, Fidel Ramos obtained only 23.6% of the total votes then – meaning, only less than a quarter of the population got the president they wanted.

In 2010, Benigno Aquino III only got around 42% of the votes. (READ: Electing a president: Picked by some, rejected by many)

For this year’s senatorial elections, a total of 172 filed their certificates of candidacy, but only 50 candidates were allowed to run. In 1992, more than thrice as many got their senatorial bids approved.

Local polls record

Local races are just as tight as the national polls. And while some candidates have to compete with many opponents for a government seat, there are those who are practically certain to win because they are running unopposed.

There are a total of 545 local candidates who are running unopposed. The breakdown is as follows:

39   district representatives
21   city mayors
27   city vice mayors
14   governors
14   vice governors
201   municipal mayors
229   municipal vice mayors


The most number of candidates running unopposed are in the Ilocos Region, where there are 63 uncontested bids for the following positions:

2   district representatives
3   city mayors
4   city vice mayors
2   governors
2   vice governors
26   municipal mayors
24   municipal vice mayors


In contrast, competition is much fiercer in other provinces and cities. These are the areas with the highest number of candidates for a certain position:

  • In the municipality of Sultan Dumalondong (Lanao del Sur), there are 19 candidates running for mayor
  • In the city of Tanjay (Negros Oriental), 10 candidates want to be mayor
  • In Bulacan, it is an 11-way battle for governor
  • In the district of Iligan City, there are 9 candidates running for representative

See the list of all national and local candidates in the links below:

– Rappler.com

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