Rethinking Democratization in the Philippines: Elections, Political Families, and Parties 53 see it working to provide genuine political competition, including alternation of power, and when it has at least some effect in controlling corruption, limiting abuse of power, and ensuring rule of law” (cited in Reynolds 2011: 72). But what is the electoral record in the Philippines? Notwithstanding our reputation as the country with the longest history of elections in Asia, we also have an electoral history steeped in vicious cycles of violence and systematic fraud and manipulation. As documented in my study, the post-war history of elections in the country show little credibility in the face of unrelenting machinations to win such contests either by the outright use of force or vote and voter manipulation in many areas of the country. For instance, the revelations about the massive vote manipulations that took place in the 2004 and 2007 elections reveal how deep and pervasive is the problem with the direct involvement of the country's top civilian and military elites. The shift to an automated election system has brought about new problems that have in fact aggravated problems of transparency and accuracy.16 Automation will not automatically solve our electoral problems unless more basic problems of political stability, institutional capabilities and accountabilities are addressed. For instance, our weak system of electoral governance as exemplied by an organizationally incompetent Comelec lacking independence, and the overall culture of impunity enjoyed by erring ofcials need to be decisively resolved. Contributing to the growing literature on political elites in the country, my study, moreover, provides an updated documentation and analysis of how pervasive and resilient has been the dominance of political clans in the country at two levels of governing: governorships and congressional positions since the restoration of formal elections in 1987. If the continuing cycles of electoral violence and fraud disqualify the country from any claim to having “free and fair elections”, the entrenched dominance of political clans over two key governing positions likewise disables us from claiming a tradition of competitive elections. Probing into the impact of good governance on electoral outcomes, a study of the 2004 elections by a team of researchers from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) also showed conicting results (Virola et al. 2004). Using the Good Governance Index (GGI) to classify the best and worst provinces, Virola et al. found out that 8 out of the 10 incumbent governors from the 10 best provinces in 2004 (Laguna, Batanes, Rizal, Benguet, Cavite, Bulacan, Bataan, South Cotabato, Batangas and Siquijor) who ran for reelection as governor or congressperson won, while two lost.17 But a surprisingly similar result was obtained in the 10 worst provinces (Masbate, Sulu, Maguindanao, Romblon, Northern Samar, Surigao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Camarines Norte and Sorsogon) when 8 out of the 10 incumbent governors who ran for reelection won, while two lost (one ran for Congress). Further probing into the impact on electoral outcomes of socio-economic