Campaign homestretch: 5 things to expect

In the final stretch of the campaign period, voters should keep an eye out for particularly practices that tend to undermine elections. Negative campaigning, special operations and black propaganda are just some of the tactics resorted to by campaign teams to discredit opponents and cast a shadow of doubt on the elections. Vote buying is also rampant, particularly on the eve of elections, with the prices of votes ranging from a low of P50 to a high of P2000, depending on one’s influence and social background. Sadly, violence seems to be a fixture of Philippine elections. Since January 13 up to May 1, 2013, there have been at least 57 election-related incidents of violence. Horse-trading, betrayals, and fund-raising are also commonplace up to the last day. These practices are documented and analyzed in the book “How to win an Election: Lessons from the Experts” by journalists Miriam Grace A. Go and Booma Cruz.

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