THE ELECTORAL BOARD (ELBO) formally ratified the College of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) Omnibus Election Code (OEC) last August 6, providing a comprehensive detail of electoral rules and regulations in the succeeding student body polls.
The newly ratified OEC, comprised of 21 articles, introduces several key changes, which include: adjustments to the composition of the electoral body, clearer and expanded terminologies, the creation of an entity to handle appeals on grave offenses, strengthened adjudicatory provisions, a delineation of election offenses and penalties, and a defined process for amending or revising the Code.
Initially, the OEC provides under Art. 1, Sec. 3 that all provisions shall be liberally construed to promote the effective and efficient conduct of free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections.
For purposes of clarity, Art. 2 (Definition of Terms) outlines the various terminology employed in the OEC, encompassing 33 terms over the previous OEC’s 7.
ELBO composition
Among the novel changes implemented in the new code is the clear delineation of the Administrative Board and Electoral Commission under Art. 3.
As provided in Art. 3 Sec. 7: the Administrative Board shall be entrusted with the operational affairs of the ELBO and shall be composed of the following: (a) Secretary-General; (b) Treasurer; and (c) Auditor.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission, under Art. 4, shall oversee all complaints, petitions and other similar submissions.
Art. 4 Sec. 2 outlines that it shall be composed of (a) six Commissioners, each with one voting power, and (b) the Head Commissioner who shall preside over the Electoral Commission’s deliberations, and who shall not vote except to break a tie.
Moreover, the OEC will establish official operating hours. Art. 3, Sec. 9 states that the ELBO shall officially operate from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays, and from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Saturdays, excluding holidays.
As provided in the OEC, all complaints should be filed within one working day after the commission of an act, and subject to ELBO’s official operating hours.
Violations and adjudication
Varying degrees of offenses have been outlined under Art. 16, Sec. 3 – light offenses which cover minor violations of election rules, limited but not exclusive to violation of direct and indirect campaigning rules; Art. 16, Sec. 4 – less grave offenses which reflect recurring disregard of election guidelines; Art. 16, Sec. 5 – outlining severe and malicious violation of electoral rules.
Art. 17 provides for the designated penalties and sanctions for said violations and subsequent recurrences.
Alongside this, two types of disqualifications were presented. Art. 17, Sec. 3 defines “Absolute Disqualification” as the disqualification of the whole slate, as a penalty due but not limited to campaigning on silent days; Art. 17, Sec. 4 defines “Perpetual Disqualification” as the disqualification from holding or running for any position due but not limited to election sabotage.
The underlying adjudication process shall be presided by the Electoral Commission and composed of three panels, (1) Art. 4 Sec. 1 – the Preliminary Adjudication Panel, entrusted with light offenses and less grave offenses; Art. 4 Sec. 2 – the Final Adjudication Panel covering grave offenses and petitions for perpetual disqualification; Art. 4 Sec. 3 – a Motu Proprio Perpetual Disqualification entrusted with the responsibility of declaring a candidate perpetually disqualified upon the notice of the final and executory decision of the Board of Discipline.
Accompanying the Final Adjudication Panel, Art. 4 Sec. 3 establishes the Board of Elections Appeals who shall have the sole authority to receive, deliberate and decide petitions for review from the decisions and resolutions rendered by the Final Adjudication Panel.
Wherefore, the Board of Election Appeals shall be composed of the Office of the Prefect of Student Activities (OPSA), the Moderator of the Electoral Board, and the Electoral Commission.
Accreditation of political parties
In recognition of student political parties, the OEC provides new rules and regulations for their accreditation. Reiterating the now-revised OEC, Art. 6 Sec. 4 provides that two weeks before the first day of the filing Certificates of Candidacy (COCs), the respective parties must file for accreditation.
The revised OEC requires that the respective parties provide a list of up-to-date members, and that each member and officer shall submit one photocopy of a valid school ID alongside a wet signature of both the party chairperson and corresponding member or officer.
Subsequently, Art. 6 Sec.5 (iii) provides that these photocopies shall be compiled and notarized by a notary public to attest to its validity.
Art. 6 Sec. 6 outlines that substitution of officers and campaign managers may be permitted within the electoral period, following the condition that they provide a resignation letter with their inscribed signature as well as that of the party’s chairperson.
Respective political parties must submit a new copy of the list of members, indicating the substitute officers or campaign managers.
Future amendments and revisions
Topping off the changes in the new OEC, the ELBO established a procedure for future amendments and revisions to the code.
Art. 20, Sec. 2 defines that only upon separate affirmative votes constituting three-fourths of the total members of the Electoral Commission and Executive Council may a petition be proposed to amend or revise the OEC. Discretion is handed to both professional and non-professional organizations, each respectively voting jointly and shall subsequently be entitled to one vote.
However, the proponent organization’s proposal must be made public through the organization’s official media accounts, providing proof that the organization’s executive board has approved the petition for amendment or revision. Through the approval of the majority of professional and non-professional organizations, the Secretary-General of the ELBO’s Administrative Board will determine if the petition is sufficient in form and substance.
Subsequently, all filing organizations will be notified of the petition, and the proposal shall be carried out in at least three (3) conspicuous places where classes are usually held through the form of a plebiscite.
The plebiscite will be rendered moot if no date has been scheduled by the end of the semester when the amendments and revisions were proposed.
In an earlier interview, ELBO Vice Chairperson Faisal Armano guaranteed that the ratified OEC is set to influence a “stable electoral process that will finally cater to a pure election process.”
He added that the Code will not be tarnished “in terms of exploiting loopholes,” noting that the changes made are all “for the sake of the entire student body,” in embodiment of the ELBO’s current administration’s banner of the mantra “Student Democracy in Motion.”