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There should only be two presidential candidates if we are to avoid another vote split, which has been nationally disastrous.Beyond two presidential aspirants, we may end up with another “minority president” who is prone to loyalty fallouts and unyielding opposition that he’d barely get anything done during his term. This country does have a penchant for coalitions or opposing parties uniting to fight common enemies. The next president who shall be elected not by a wide majority (which is always the case in a multi-cornered fight) will only be bullied by these cunning coalitions. His will be a repeat of the unpopular Arroyo Empire which treaded opposition left and right, dodging scandals and bad publicity here and there.
The simple arithmetic: at least who ever wins between two strong presidential candidates would most likely get the support of more than 50% of the voters. With 3 presidential candidates the winner may not get supported by almost 2/3 of the voters who rooted for the other 2 candidates. Three is already a crowd. Nine is a just monstrous traffic jam.
This election with Gibo, Noynoy, Villar, Estrada, Gordon, Delos Reyes, Perlas, Jamby, and Villanueva running (each with their real and imaginary followers) the emerging president may only get a small fraction of supporters while facing massive opposition from those of his toppled opponents. Remember, in Philippine politics, there could be too much vendetta for our own good yet this has been a political trademark I do not see vanishing in the near future.
Patronage, transactional and traditional politics are hard to kill as they are like plaque ingrained in our culture.
We cannot afford to waste another 6 years of congressional bickering and political maneuvering while vital government projects and undertaking are put on hold due to mounting opposition by those who oppose for the sake of opposing. We’ve learned in the past that projects and programs may not be judged by their merits but by a criteria limited to “who proposed them”.
Some candidates just need to give up especially when getting 10 million votes is a clear statistical impossibility. Defeat is hard to accept more so if the contest has not begun but let’s face it, life is not fair. One has to do the bigger sacrifice of dropping out of the
race if it is the only way to reduce drag as the country takes off.
Tailing aspirants may even do the country (and themselves) better by putting off their presidential plans, and throwing support to those who actually have a chance of winning. Sometimes it is not about letting the good candidate win—- it can be about letting the bad one
lose. Eliminating the weakest link will do the country better. If they really believe they can make a difference in this country, then they make that difference any other way aside from the presidency.
It is a painful decision but a heroic one that can be made with a clearer mind and a purer heart. The problem is, this election is top billed by candidates who are under an illusion that they have a chance of winning. These are the ones who really believe their own press releases that they are widely supported, and take the surveys they have commissioned hook, line and sinker. These are the candidates who hitch their hopes for the highest position in the land based on the hand shakes and the warm smiles that greet them in their sorties.
If it all really boils down to a 3-cornered fight between Gibo, Villar and Noynoy, the rest may need to budge. The bottom dwellers may stay on in the race as the votes they may garner may not significantly contribute to a split vote scenario. But the other candidates tailing the top 3
are the ones who can dangerously cause a vote split, as they rake in a significant tally that should have gone to the top seed. Again, some candidates can actually make their ultimate sacrifice for their country by not running at all. It is best to keep the race close and tight.
Americans deal with this regularly during their elections. The strength of a two party system enables voters to “conserve” their votes by choosing either of the only two candidates running for president which is either a Democrat or a Republican. In some instances an Independent
runs but this rarely affects the race, or causes a vote split.
As much as I personally welcome a multi-cornered fight and as much as many Filipinos respect someone’s desire to serve the country by running for president, this is just a bad time. The 2010 polls is an important time and opportunity for change. We’re coming in from a rule marred by corruption and scandal and 2010 is our only chance to change all that. Hence we need to deal our cards right, even if not everyone gets to play.
