2004 Philippine Senate election

The 2004 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 28th election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 10, 2004 to elect 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. The major coalitions that participated are the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K4; Coalition of Truth and Experience for Tomorrow) composed of parties that support the candidacy of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP; Coalition of United Filipinos), parties that support the candidacy of film actor Fernando Poe Jr. A third coalition, the Alyansa ng Pag-asa (Alliance of Hope) was made up of Aksyon Demokratiko and Reporma-LM. K4 won seven seats, while the KNP won the remaining five contested seats in the Philippine Senate.
The elections were notable for several reasons. This election first saw the implementation of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 "(see )", which enabled Filipinos in over 70 countries to vote.
Parties and coalitions.
This election has seen strong shifts of alliances and new parties as candidates switched allegiances. The two major coalitions seen in this elections were the K-4 ("Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan"), of the administration, and the KNP ("Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino"), the united opposition.
Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K-4).
The Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (Coalition of Truth and Experience for Tomorrow) or K-4, is the remnant of the People Power Coalition that was formed following the ascendancy of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to power. Arroyo is seeking a complete term under this coalition with Sen. Noli de Castro, an independent, yet popular, politician, as her running mate. The leading party in this coalition is the ruling Lakas-CMD, of which Arroyo is a member. Other parties under this coalition are the Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, the Nationalist People's Coalition and the People's Reform Party.
Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP).
The Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (Coalition of United Filipinos), or KNP, is the coalition of the united opposition. Its standard bearers are Fernando Poe, Jr. for president and Sen. Loren Legarda for vice-president. The leading parties of this coalition is the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP-Angara Wing), the PDP–Laban and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino. The LDP split is caused by stubbornness between FPJ and Ping Lacson especially with the support of the former president Joseph Estrada and former first lady Imelda Marcos. The other major party under this coalition is Estrada's "Partido ng Masang Pilipino" (PMP, Party of the Filipino Masses).
Alyansa ng Pag-asa.
The third major coalition running in this election is the "Alyansa ng Pag-asa" (Alliance of Hope), This coalition fielded Raul Roco for president and Herminio Aquino for vice-president. The three major parties supporting this coalition are Roco's "Aksyon Demokratiko" (Democratic Action), former Defense Sec. Renato de Villa's Reporma Party, and Lito Osmeña's Promdi ("Probinsya Muna" [Provinces First] Development Initiative/Party). The three parties were the ones that bolted out of the People Power Coalition.
"Bangon Pilipinas" Movement (BPM).
The Bangon Pilipinas (Rise up, Philippines) Movement is the political party of Bro. Eddie Villanueva. It consists mostly of volunteers, a majority of whom came from Villanueva's Jesus Is Lord church (Villanueva resigned from the church before submitting his candidacy, to prevent questions on separation of church and state).
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) (Aquino Wing).
This was composed of Panfilo Lacson's supporters in the LDP Party.
Partido Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa.
This was Eddie Gil's organization. Gil was deemed a nuisance candidate and was disqualified from the presidential race, however, the party qualified for other positions.
Election results.
The official results of the election were released in staggered dates with most winners in local elective positions declared within two weeks from the May 10 election date. The winners in the Senatorial and Party-list Representative elections were declared on May 24, with the exception of the 12th senator which was announced on June 3. The results of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential races were finalized by the Congress on June 20, more than a month after the elections. Out of the 43,536,028 registered voters, about 35.4 million ballots were cast giving a voter turn-out of 81.4%.
The COMELEC sits as the National Board of Canvassers for the 12 senatorial positions.