Watchdog: High turnout, low competition mark 2025 elections

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

MANILA — The 2025 national and local elections saw strong voter engagement but remained plagued by long-standing issues of limited competition, according to the final report of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released July 24.

Titled “High Turnout, Low Competition: Resilient Participation in a Constrained Electoral Landscape,” the report confirmed ANFREL’s initial findings from May and highlighted an 82.2 percent voter turnout—a record high for a midterm election.

The international observer group praised improvements in election administration, citing enhanced transparency, greater accessibility for marginalized sectors, and the accuracy of automated vote counting.

However, ANFREL raised concerns over persistent issues that continue to undermine electoral integrity and political diversity.

Despite robust participation, one in three congressional districts had unopposed candidates.

The group cited the entrenchment of political dynasties and misuse of the party-list system as major barriers to political pluralism.

Vote buying, often enabled by digital platforms such as GCash, was reported in 69 percent of observed areas.

In 40 percent of locations, there were also allegations of misuse of public resources for campaign purposes.

Although the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has taken steps to address these issues—such as forming the permanent Committee on Kontra-Bigay—ANFREL noted that existing legal constraints limit the agency’s powers outside the official campaign period.

The report criticized the continued dominance of personality-driven campaigns, with many voters expressing frustration over the lack of issue-based discourse, widespread corruption, and limited political alternatives.

ANFREL also acknowledged improvements in accessibility for elderly voters, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and detainees.

These enhancements included special voting procedures, polling centers in malls, and accessibility features in vote-counting machines.

Still, the group observed inconsistent implementation across precincts, especially in remote areas.

For the first time, ANFREL formally integrated social media monitoring into its observation mission, in partnership with The Carter Center.

More than 60,000 posts from senatorial and party-list candidates were analyzed, revealing coordinated disinformation campaigns and inconsistent adherence to COMELEC’s digital campaign rules.

To improve future elections, ANFREL recommended that Congress:

• Enact enabling laws to enforce the constitutional ban on political dynasties;
• Update campaign finance regulations;
• Strengthen COMELEC’s authority outside of official campaign periods; and
• Reform the party-list system to ensure it serves marginalized sectors.

ANFREL stressed the urgency of addressing structural barriers ahead of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) and the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) later this year.

The group concluded that while the 2025 polls were generally peaceful and technically sound, deeper reforms are needed to ensure more inclusive and democratic elections in the Philippines.

“What we witnessed was not a perfect process, but a powerful affirmation of people’s resilience,” said ANFREL Executive Director Brizza Rosales.

“Democracy, constrained though it may be, is still alive in the Philippines—and where it lives, it can be strengthened,” she added.