The Internet and Mobile Technologies in Election Campaigns: The GABRIELA Women's Party During the 2007 Philippine Elections

ABSTRACT

New mobile communication technologies are gaining popularity in the study of political communication, as political actors across the world exploit their applications in the hope of affecting voting behavior. Social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Friendster have provided interesting and effective uses for political communication, and these trends are now migrating from the West to Asia. The 2007 midterm elections in the Philippines, conducted against a backdrop of violence and extrajudicial killings, generated intense international interest. In a historic development, the General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action (GABRIELA), the largest women's organization in the Philippines, won two legislative seats through its GABRIELA Women's Party (GWP). GABRIELA also secured the most votes in the overseas absentee voting system. The party's win marks a major reference point for women in politics. It symbolizes the growing power of Asian women and provides an illustration of the use of new media technologies for electoral campaigning. This study explores the GWP through a case study method and in-depth interviews (see the Appendix). As the party's limited funds restricted its use of mainstream media advertising during the elections, the GWP turned to Internet and mobile technologies. As a new entrant to the use of these technologies, the GWP was not able to maximize the potential of the Internet in its campaign, yet the party was able to make effective use of mobile phones to reach voters. The Internet and mobile media should not be seen as a replacement for traditional campaign strategies, but rather as integral parts of a holistic political communication network. While the Internet may complement the use of traditional media and grassroots campaigning, as it enables campaigns to reach a growing segment of the online population, the mobile phone deserves greater attention as a tool of personal communication with the electorate.

KEYWORDS:

• Elections
• GABRIELA
• mobile technologies
• Philippines
• social networking

Notes

1. See more, Gabriela Women's Party Web site, http://gabrielawomensparty.org/.

2. There have been significant changes in the GWP's Internet campaigning and Web site content since this study was conducted in 2007 when its Internet campaigning was in its experimental phase. For instance, the party has been more actively campaigning on the Internet: revamping the Web site's content and hyperlinking to more external Web sites on a regular basis.

3. Starting in 1992, the first 12 senators with the highest number of votes serve for six years and the remaining 12 for three years (Senate of the Philippines, www.senate.gov.ph).

4. In the 2001 Amnesty International Report: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa350012001.