This is a list of elections and referendums held in the Philippines.

General and local elections

For much of its history since 1935, the Philippines has been governed as a presidential

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

republic. The term " general election" is not predominantly used in the Philippines, but for the purposes of this article, a "general election" may refer to an election day where the presidency or at least a class of members of Congress are on the ballot. Since 1992, on presidential election days, the presidency, half of the Senate, the House of Representatives and all local officials above the barangay level, but below the regional level, are at stake. On a "midterm election", it's the same, except for the presidency is not at stake. Local elections above the

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

level, but below the regional level, are synchronized with elections for national positions. Barangay elections are usually held separately from general and local elections.

Regional elections

Regional elections are held for the

autonomous regions An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...

. There had been two autonomous

regions in the Philippines In the Philippines, regions ( fil, rehiyon; ISO 3166-2:PH) are administrative divisions that primarily serve to coordinate planning and organize national government services across multiple local government units (LGUs). Most national govern ...

: the

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( tl, Rehiyong Awtonomo ng Muslim Mindanao; ar, الحكم الذاتي الاقليمي لمسلمي مندناو ''Al-ḥukm adh-dhātī al-'iqlīmī li-muslimī Mindanāu''; abbreviated as ARMM) was ...

(ARMM), and the

Bangsamoro ar, منطقة بانجسامورو ذاتية الحكم فى مسلمى مينداناو , native_name = , settlement_type = Autonomous region , anthem = Bangsamoro Hymn , image_skyline ...

that replaced it. Regional elections were not synchronized with general elections above, but on 2013 and 2016, they were. The 2016 election was the last ARMM election. After the approval of the Bangsamoro in a plebiscite, there was a transition period, and the first Bangsamoro election is expected to be held on 2022.

National referendums

Referendums are on an ad hoc basis. Before 1973, these were mostly used on amending the constitution. Starting from

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

up to the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

, referendums became more frequent. After the People Power Revolution, there had only been one national referendum, on the approval of the current constitution.

Recall elections

Only locally elected officials can be recalled. These are the recall elections above the barangay level:

Special elections

Both chambers of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

conduct special elections (known as "

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

s" elsewhere) once a seat becomes vacant. The upcoming Bangsamoro Parliament can also hold special elections for vacancies for seats from its parliamentary districts. A special election can also be called if the offices of president and vice president of the Philippines are vacant in the same time.

People's Initiatives

People's Initiative is a common appellative in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

that refers to either a mode for constitutional amendment provided by the 1987 Philippine Constitution or to the act of pushing an

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...

(national or local) allowed by the Initiative and Referendum Act of 1987. While the Supreme Court had declared amending the constitution via initiative as "fatally defective" and those inoperable, the Initiative and Referendum Act of 1987 can still be used to initiate initiatives for statues, ordinances and resolutions (such as a

Snap Election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...

if the Elections coincide with a particular occasions) at the national and local level. While there had been no referendums at the national level, this has been successfully implemented at the local level, particularly in barangays.

External links

Official website of the Commission on Elections
{{Philippine elections