At a minimal level, democracy’s defining feature as a social structure is the practice of elections. However, even at this level, the practice of elections brings about dynamic behavioral effects to the individual and the society. In principle, elections enable citizens to hold their government leaders accountable for their actions and consequently, compel government leaders to be responsive to the needs of its constituents. Elections have also served as a mechanism that pacified political tensions in developing countries and political stability as countries like Indonesia experienced stable economic growth when the government enabled the citizens to directly vote in the Presidential elections in 2004 (Ananta, 2006). The practice of elections on a regular basis also influences the political outlook of citizens as they become mindful of the credibility and competence of their leaders. Furthermore, citizens become more outspoken with their own political opinions as elections imparts a sense empowerment and inclusion to the society’s overall pursuit for development. The practice of elections also facilitates the development of important political norms such as representation, transparency and accountability as political candidates seek to represent the interests of the society to gain votes while transparency is developed, as political candidates are held accountable for their actions during their term.

In the Philippines, the practice of elections has certainly contributed to the process of democratic consolidation. Elections have always marked significant changes for the country and over time, these changes have also reshaped what elections signify for the individual and the society at large. During the Spanish and American colonization, the practice of elections signified one important political norm, representation. In the Spanish colonization era, the election of ‘cabezas’ and ‘gobernadocillos, despite being responsible for tax collection and enjoyed minimal political power, gave a sense of representation for Filipinos within the colonial political system. Under the American colonial rule, political representation was institutionalized with the Philippine Commission’s establishment of elections at the municipal and provincial level and the election of representative for a Philippine Assembly. Attached to such electoral provisions was the value of political autonomy. The practice of local and national elections empowered Filipinos the elected representative of the Philippine Assembly enjoyed legislative power. Thus, with the institutionalization of the electoral practice under the American rule, the scope of elective positions increased. The expansion of the scope of elective positions created a social structure by which the citizens could enjoy more autonomy in the task of governing. With the development of the social structure of democracy, the political attitude and outlook towards American colonial rule shifted. According to Abinales and Amoroso, political resistance against the Americans eased and landowners, merchants and professionals used the opportunity enter the electoral race because they met the qualifications for political candidates (2004). With such structural changes in the country’s political system, political representation, autonomy and participation in the political system became embedded in electoral practice.

Such changes were not without its negative effects. The expansion of elective positions and the scope of political power that was redistributed to Filipinos made elections a crucial mechanism for political development but also an attractive opportunity for rent-seeking activities. Although the expansion of elective positions facilitated the development of competition among political parties, responsiveness to the social concerns of the society was hardly the strategy in obtaining votes and in maintaining their political power. Political candidates established patron-client relations with voters in order to gain votes. According to Schedler and Schaffer, political candidates sought to ‘buy’ votes through patronage: “patrons help their clients, grant them favors and give them presents, and expect to be paid back later with the currency of political support” (Schaffer & Schedler, 2005). As the issue of vote buying continues to persist today, it has actually affected the political attitudes of citizens as elections are deemed as a dishonest process. According to the Social Weather Station, citizens have come to accept that irregularities in the electoral process are inevitable in elections (2007). In the case of political candidates who come from old political clans, the desire to win a political position is driven by the attraction of rent-seeking opportunities under the government. Since most of the political candidates who ran for the elections are landowners, a political position enables these political candidates to protect their own business interests. Benedict Anderson noted that despite the downfall of the Marcos regime and the establishment of a new Constitution, the persistence of patron-client networks among political clans would continue to impede the practice of elections from becoming a mechanism for political development.

The Philippine experience on the practice of elections demonstrates how social structure changes and influences the behavior of individuals. The practice of elections gave a sense of empowerment and representation as a political norm in Philippine political development. However, as the practice of elections continued to become a deeper component of political life, the behavior of political candidates and voters changed what this social structure initially meant for the society. While the process of voting remains the same, the dynamics have certainly changed as the emergence of vote buying issues and the persistence of patron-client networks have reduced the meaning of elections as merely a mechanism in which political preference for a particular candidate is expressed.
In any social phenomenon, the cultural paradigm provides a framework by which the meaning of social structures and how social change affects behavior can be determined. It is important to remember that in understanding the role of culture in development, we must not ignore the fact that man continuously tries to improve himself and achieve his full potential. Thus, culture will also continue to change even if a particular social structure remains intact. In the Philippine context, the meaning of elections has certainly evolved over time but the social structure or the practice of elections remains the same. Ultimately, it is not enough to consider political development and the consolidation of democracy as merely holding elections. Understanding the development of a particular society or a country calls for the need to interpret what certain practices mean beyond the quantitative measures.