Resilient Participation in a Constrained Electoral Landscape

Overview

This issue of Data Dive draws from the Final Election Observation Report recently released by the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) following its comprehensive monitoring of the 2025 Philippine National and Local Midterm Elections held on 12 May 2025.

Conducted in a politically charged environment marked by rising polarization, the enduring power of political dynasties, and a shifting digital information landscape, these elections still saw record voter turnout of 82.2%, reflecting the deep civic commitment of Filipinos despite systemic challenges.ANFREL deployed 21 international observers across 11 regions, supported by core analysts and a mission team, to observe the full electoral cycle – from pre-election preparations and campaigning to Election Day and post-election developments. The mission was guided by a robust framework of regional and international standards, including The Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, The Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations, the Model Commitments for Advancing Genuine and Credible Elections (2024)  and ANFREL’s Code of Conduct, ensuring impartial, transparent, and credible reporting.

The mission recognized the Commission on Election’s (COMELEC) strong institutional performance – from livestreamed audits and transparent source code reviews to improved accessibility measures – but also noted persistent weaknesses, including limited electoral competition, vote buying, abuse of state resources, and party-list system co-optation.

This edition presents key findings, highlights, and ANFREL’s targeted reform roadmap to strengthen the credibility, inclusiveness, and competitiveness of future Philippine elections.