“The people who cast the votes don’t decide an election, the people who count the votes do.” –Joseph Stalin

Those running for public office in the upcoming midterm elections should not be discouraged by “surveys” commissioned by shady outfits, particularly those that spring to life only during election season. Whether “lagging” or “leading,” survey results do not necessarily spell doom nor ensure victory on election day. News of a candidate trailing by a certain percentage is tantamount to a mosquito bite – no immediate life-threatening harm. Results in the opposite direction are equivalent to an ego massage.

Although, there have been cases where bogus surveys have yielded positive results for narcissistic candidates, especially if the opposing camp hasn’t done its homework and snoring during the mind games of politics; that is where a mosquito bite can be fatal.

Surveys, legitimate or not, are sometimes used by political spin doctors to psych out rivals – it’s mind-conditioning. Some undecided voters cast their votes for “sure winners” but would have voted otherwise if they weren’t influenced by surveys.

I’ve been covering elections in the Philippines for the past 30 years and I can count on my fingers how many candidates emerged victorious after topping surveys. Most of these “survey winners” had no idea the results were meant for self-aggrandizement and commissioned by independent groups.

Despite surveys putting Timoteo ‘Nene’ Consing ahead of Mansueto Malabor in the 1992 race for Iloilo City mayor, the latter came out victorious in the end; former Assemblyman Salvador ‘Buddy’ Britanico clobbered for Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez in surveys for the 1998 race for Iloilo City lone district congressman but the former cabinet official trounced his opponent in the homestretch; in the 1992 presidential race, surveys found Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. led a crowded field that included retired General Fidel V. Ramos, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, former First Lady Imelda Marcos weeks before the election; former Speaker of the House Jose de Venecia, Jr. led Vice President Joseph Estrada in the surveys but ended up losing to the former actor by six million votes; and film actor Fernando Poe, Jr. led President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in various surveys ahead of polls in the 2014 presidential race.

For this year’s candidates, focus on the campaign and wait for the final “survey results” – after the ballots are counted./WDJ