DECLARATION OF FAILURE OF ELECTION

In Sison vs. COMELEC (334 SCRA 170, 1999), we ruled that under the
pertinent provisions of the Omnibus Election Code, there are only three
instances where a failure of elections may be declared, namely:
a) The election in any polling place has not been held on the date fixed, on
account of force maeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous
causes! or
b) The election in any polling place had not been suspended before the hour
fixed by law for the closing of the voting on account of force maeure,
violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes! or
c) "fter the voting and during the preparation and transmission of the
election returns or in the custody or canvass thereof, such election results in
a failure to elect on account of force maeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or
other analogous causes#
E$CE%TIO&': DATU ANDAL S. AMPATUAN, ET.AL. S.
COMELEC, ET.AL., !.R. No. 149"03, #$n%$&' 31, (00(. The fact that a
candidate proclaimed has assumed office does not deprive the CO(E)EC
of its authority to annul any canvass and illegal proclamation# In the case at
bar, we cannot assume that petitioners* proclamation and assumption into
office on +une ,-, .--/, was legal precisely because the conduct by which
the elections were held was put in issue by respondents in their petition for
annulment of elections results and0or declaration of failure of elections#
1espondents* allegations of massive fraud and terrorism that attended
the (ay /2, .--/ election in the affected municipalities cannot be ta3en
lightly as to warrant the dismissal of their petition by the CO(E)EC on the
simple pretext that petitioners had been proclaimed winners# 4e are not
unmindful of the fact that 5a pattern of conduct observed in past elections
has been the pernicious 6grab7the7proclamation7prolong7the7protest* slogan
of some candidates or parties8 such that even if the protestant wins, it
becomes 5a mere pyrrhic victory, i#e#, a vindication when the term office is
about to expire or has expired#8 $xx 54e have but to reiterate the oft7cited
rule that the validity of a proclamation may be challenged even after the
irregularly proclaimed candidate has assumed office#
Before the Comelec can act on a verified petition to declare a
failure of election, two (2) conditions must concur: first, no voting has
taken place in the precincts concerned on the date fixed by law or,
even if there was voting, the election nevertheless resulted in a failure
to elect and second, the votes not cast would affect the result of the
election! "he cause of such failure of election should have been any
of the following: force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other
analogous causes! #uch causes may occur before or after the
casting of votes or on the day of election!
$

To warrant a declaration of failure of
election on the ground of fraud, the fraud
must prevent or suspend the holding of an
election, or mar totally the preparation,
transmission, custody and canvass of the
election returns.
2
The Supreme Court ruled that there is a
failure of election only if the will of the
electorate is muted and cannot be
ascertained.
3

Where the Comelec fnds that an
election was vitiated by widespread and
pervasive terrorism and election frauds,
which resulted in the submission at gunpoint
of falsifed and tampered election returns,
and it is impossible to purge the illegal from
the valid returns, so that there were no
returns worthy of faith and credit and from
which would be gauged a fair and true
epression of the popular will, the
/
Mitmug vs. Comelec, 3! SC"# $% &'((%)* +oong vs. Comelec,
$, SC"# ' &'((-)* .assan vs. Comelec, -% SC"# '$ &'((-)*
Macabago vs. Comelec, /.". 0o. '$'-3, 0ovember '1, !!.
.
2ago 3. 3asandalan vs. C4M5+5C, et.al., /.". 0o. '$!3', 6uly
'1, !!* Carpio, 6.
,
2ago 3. 3asandalan vs. C4M5+5C, et.al., /.". 0o. '$!3', 6uly
'1, !!* Carpio, 6.
Commission has the power to annul the
election in the political locality concerned,
whether the causes occurred before or after
the elections.
!

2
Sanche7 vs.Comelec, ''% SC"# %$% &'(1)