Political parties of UP Diliman (UPD) will once again try to clinch as many colleges in the coming student council elections, while also relying on the support of colleges that have long served as their strongholds.

The Collegian has analyzed the results of past 10 election cycles to show where the support of each college lies based on the average voting shares of the parties’ chairperson and vice chairperson bets. Based on the difference of the average voting shares of the two highest parties, we classified the colleges into three: safe, lean, and toss-up (see sidebar).

For the past 10 election cycles, the College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) has proven its loyalty to the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP) with its 56 percent vote share for the party. This has allowed the CSWCD to be classified as a safe college for STAND UP due to the significant edge it gave to the party. Along with the CSWCD, the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) has also greatly favored the red banner, with half of its voters supporting STAND UP for years.

UP Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran (UP Alyansa), meanwhile, gets its support from business and management colleges. The blue party has been able to convince more than half of School of Economics’ voters to choose their standard bearers, making the school their safe base. The College of Business Administration, as well, has fairly supported UP Alyansa, but strong competition with Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA UP) has only made the college lean for the blue party.

For the past 10 election cycles, the music students have also consistently favored UP Alyansa as manifested by the college’s 44 percent vote share for the party’s standard bearers.

The Asian Institute of Tourism (AIT), on the other hand, has topped all the other colleges in terms of support for KAISA UP, with 47 percent of student voters choosing the yellow party, making AIT its safe base. The College of Home Economics (CHE) also stood behind KAISA UP as revealed by its 38 percent vote share in the college.

KAISA UP likewise managed to clinch support from the National College of Public Administration and Governance, but its wins in the college have not been consistent through the decade as it continues to compete with other parties.

While parties have established their strongholds in the campus, their success is still not guaranteed considering the voting share of a college in proportion to the total votes in the university, and the college’s voter turnout in the elections.

CAL, CHE, and Econ, although considered as the major supporters of the three parties, contribute only about five percent each to the total votes cast in the university. Similarly, only 39 percent of CAL students vote, on average, while only half of CHE’s student population cast their ballots.

The College of Engineering (Engg), meanwhile, has the largest voter population in the university. Yet, on average, less than half of its students cast their votes. The situation is the same for the College of Science (CS), the second largest college on the campus. Although Engg and the CS would have been a potential trove of supporters, these colleges have not been inclined to any specific party for the past election cycles.

In two weeks, political parties will cling to the support of colleges who have been proven to be their strongholds, and try to swing others to vote for them. With the absence of KAISA UP from this year’s race, it is up to STAND UP and UP Alyansa’s strategies to grab the yellow’s base colleges and convince the students to swing in their favor. ●