269. Types and Effects of Electoral Malpractice in Southeast Asia

Session Submission Type: Organized Panel

Abstract

Current literature on electoral malpractice typically highlights ballot rigging, vote count irregularities or illegal acts that occur on the polling day. Less is said about the manipulation of rules before election or their effects. Electoral malpractice can occur in all stages of the electoral cycle and affect electoral competition, representation and participation. As Birch’s work shows, electoral malpractice can manifest through: 1) the manipulation of rules; 2) the manipulation of voters, or 3) manipulation of voting process. This panel adopts qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine how electoral misconduct pre-and post-election affects candidates, parties and voters in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. To begin with, P. Chambers (Chiang Mai) and N. Waitoolkiat’s (Naresuan) study on Thailand traces the evolution of electoral corruption and examine how the lack of enforcement of rules governing campaign funds affects democracy. Given the regular occurrence of gerrymandering before every election in Singapore, G. Riambau (Yale-NUS) examines how pre-electoral boundary changes in pro and anti-government electoral districts affect housing prices in the last four decades. On the other hand, R. Toha (Yale-NUS) and S. Harish (NYU) considers how a particular of electoral violence – candidate-targeted violence - reduces the number of competitors in 2005-2011 elections in Indonesia. Finally, adopting the tools of election forensic, M. Davidson (UCSD) investigates the occurrence of electoral fraud in the 2004 presidential election and their effects on candidates and political parties in the Philippines. A. Hicken (Michigan) will discuss the papers while N.Tan (McMaster) will chair the panel.

Area of Study

• Southeast

Session Organizer

• Netina Tan, McMaster University

Chair

• Netina Tan, McMaster University

Individual Presentations

• Does the Color of the Local District Incumbent affect Housing Prices? Evidence from Singapore - Guillem Riambau Armet, Yale-NUS College

• Forms of Pre-Electoral Violence: New Micro-Level Evidence from Indonesia - Risa Toha, Yale-NUS College; Harish S.P., New York University

• Using Election Forensics to Detect Fraud and Strategic Behavior in the Philippines - Allen D. Hicken, University of Michigan

• Gerrymandering in Singapore - Netina Tan, McMaster University

Discussant

• Allen D. Hicken, University of Michigan