Students from all campuses of the University of the Philippines will hold mock polls dubbed Botong Isko 2010 from March 18 to 23.
Powered by the open-source Halalan voting system, the mock polls will enable participating UP students to cast their votes for president, vice-president, senators, and partylist representatives of their choice.
The official results will be released on March 24 at 12:00 noon.
The mock polls is spearheaded by the UP Linux Users’ Group (UnPLUG) together with Kasama sa UP, Solidaridad, Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND-UP), League of College Councils, National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and scores of other organizations.
The goal of the project is to unite students and the UP System for a clean, transparent, and honest elections. It will also help determine the candidates highly-favored by the Iskolar ng Bayan in the run-up to the May 10 elections.
The mock polls will involve UP System campuses in Baguio, Manila, Los Baños, Diliman, Miag-ao, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, and Mindanao.
UnPLUG’s open-source Halalan voting system was used in two consecutive student council elections in UP Diliman.
Read more at the Botong Isko 2010 website.
Boto na Isko!
KABATAAN PARTYLIST!
Make Satur and Liza number one!
What’s the point? You cannot make conclusions with regard to the larger population e.g., UP community, because the sample (voters in this mock poll) is self-selected and hence, biased in the statistical sense. I’m afraid the results of this mock polls might end up being used to advance the political interests of some people. It might also be picked up by media and be eventually reported as the general sentiment of the UP community.
@ianalis I think it is unfair to brand it as unbiased. The Halalan voting system would again be used – the same system used in past two USC elections in Diliman, so please don’t be afraid and cynical. Perhaps the better thing to do is for you to campaign more actively for the candidates of your choice so they would have a fighting chance to win in the mock polls. Finally, of course, the results of this news-worthy project would be picked up by the media and would be rightly reported as the sentiment of those who participated in it.
@ianalis
Sir Christian, I understand where your response, specifically the first thought, roots from. Yes, the results will be statistically biased because the sample is chosen. However, we must not limit the analysis to stat. What is not quantified in this endeavor is its purpose as viewed by the public. It’s not to show the general sentiment, I guess. The goal is to open a new view to voters – something to ponder.
While it is true that the outcome might be used for politics, I don’t see anything wrong if the results would be considered as good credential.
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@tonyo I’m not being cynical.
I’m not questioning the credibility of the system used (halalan). I’m only bothered by the fact that voters will be statistically biased such that no scientific conclusions about the preference of the population can be drawn.
@John Carl Okay. I guess media should emphasize that the poll is not scientific and no conclusions about the UP community’s preference can be drawn based on the poll. Scientifically valid pre-election results are already spinned and misinterpreted. I seriously doubt if this poll will fare better.
@ianalis I think your suggestions are too unfair to the organizers of this project. How can you say that voters are “statistically biased” – the moment they log on to Botong Isko, they already take a stand. Ditto for those who refuse to participate, because non-participation or abstention is also a valid position to take.
This project, given its limitations, remain very noteworthy for encouraging UP students to actively participate in the electoral process. It depends on the media and the contending parties, as well as the public, how they would make the most out of this project or whether they would make them serve narrow ends.
if everyone agrees with sen n aquino .. a mcck elections is no longer necessary — kc he said their will be what ? ” a civil war” or something like that, if he doesn’t win this coming May 10 ELECTIONS. so, bakit mag-eleksyon pa tau????siya na pala ang presidente ng pilipinas…
He is insulting the intelligence of the Filipino people.Let the people decide for themselves, whom to vote.
Masyado ka namang presumptive, at believe ka masyado sa sarili mo..u are only being used by those who around u, who want to continue their hold to power, which was aborted when they were taken out or when they went out on their own, from their previous juicy or powerful positions in government.
u know very well na u never had the idea na u are gunning for the presidency. kung baga..naudyukan ka lang…ur parents’ good name and achievements cannot translate to votes for u. iba sila, iba ka. the presidency is not inherited or cannot be had thru genetics…as one presidential candidate said.
sabi mo magkagulo kung matalo ka? take a close look at urself first…..there are othehr deserving presidential candidates….give them a fighting chance. u cannot monopolize the playing field…