Mr.
March 11-15, 2011
Bangkok, Thailand
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<div><em>"Without a vision, the people perish."</em></div>
<div align="right">Proverbs, 25:18</div>
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<div><strong>Is there a formula for electoral success? </strong></div>
<div>Many political pundits would answer in the negative, arguing that differences in political and electoral systems, party organization and resources, electorate profile and political culture, among others, would result in variation in the key ingredients for attaining electoral victory. While this may be true to a significant extent, there are also best practices and discernible trends that may assist political parties everywhere in successfully contesting elections. For one, it cannot be denied that every electoral victory begins with a clear goal and vision, without which, there would be no sense of direction or purpose. Once this is set, a strategic campaign plan must be devised, which is essentially a series of operations that political parties and candidates vigorously pursue to win elections.</div>
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<div>How to build a strategic campaign plan becomes a topic of paramount importance for CALD member parties, a significant number of which will be contesting national elections within the next three years. Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore are scheduled to have parliamentary elections this year, followed by senatorial and legislative council elections in Cambodia and Hong Kong respectively in 2012. The following year, in 2013, legislative elections would be held in the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia and Japan. The next years, without a doubt, would be critical in sustaining the recent electoral gains of liberal political parties in the Asian region.
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<div>Campaign planning is an indispensable element in sustaining, and even expanding, these liberal victories. Issue focus, background research, campaign goals, lay of the land, strategy, campaign communications, tactics and timeline, volunteer and resource management – all of these are important steps in campaign planning. In electoral politics, these may be condensed into the following essential elements: fundraising; public opinion research; electoral database maintenance and analysis; and message development and media relations.</div>
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<div>Money is an inevitable electoral resource. It is the oil that runs the campaign machinery. Apart from (volunteer) labor, money serves as the backbone of any electoral campaign. In some Asian countries, state funding are provided for political parties, while in other states, political parties are left to their own devices when it comes to fundraising for elections. Regardless of whether state funding is available or not, money would always be needed by political parties contesting elections. Funds are needed to execute the campaign plan. Strategic campaign planning, therefore, should always begin with strategies on how to raise funds.</div>
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<div>Once funds become available, political parties must strategically employ this resource to fund activities which could help them in making an accurate assessment of the political environment and consequently, of their electoral standing. Public opinion research or polling has become an indispensable mechanism in making the necessary electoral preparation. Polling can give political parties information on the issues that people value, on its strongholds and weak spots, on their current standing vis-à-vis the competition, among others. Data obtained through scientific public opinion research can be used in devising party programs and campaign strategies which can improve the electoral chances of political parties concerned.</div>
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<div>Public opinion research can also be utilized to construct an electoral database which provides basic information about the voters and their political sentiments. Data such as the number of voters per household, voting patterns, candidate or party preference, stance on issues, among others, provide valuable information which can be used in focusing the programs and campaign activities of political parties. This database may initially entail a lot of resources to construct, but once it is in place, this can make the campaigns more scientifically grounded, and therefore, more effective in garnering votes.</div>
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<div>Another key aspect of a strategic campaign plan is message development and media relations. It is imperative that a political party crafts a message that would be relevant and resonate with the people. It should be one clear, concise, compelling phrase summarizing the party's position, to be reiterated throughout the campaign.</div>
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<div>Once the message is crafted, the next step would be to make the media propagate it. Here, there would be a need to identify specific media outlets that would be most effective in communicating the message to the target and public audiences.</div>
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<div>In recognition of the importance of strategic campaign plan to electoral success, the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and the Democrat Party of Thailand (DP), with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), are organizing a workshop "Building a Strategic Campaign Plan" in Bangkok, Thailand from March 11 to March 15 2011. The workshop generally aims to enhance the capacity of CALD member parties in contesting elections by highlighting the significance of fundraising, public opinion research, electoral database management and analysis, and message development and media relations. The objectives of the workshop are as follows:</div>
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<li>to identify the strengths and weaknesses of CALD member parties in contesting elections;</li>
<li>to enhance the capacity of the participants/CALD member parties in making a strategic campaign plan;</li>
<li>to share best practices and lessons learned regarding successful electoral contestation; and</li>
<li>to recognize how the CALD network could be used in capacity-building efforts and other activities which aim to increase the electoral chances of CALD member parties.</li></ul>The workshop methodology includes inputs from resource persons and workshop participants, small working group sessions and an open discussion/synthesis. There will be a workshop facilitator to ensure the smooth flow of the opening conference and all the workshop sessions. The workshop, however, is structured to ensure full participant ownership and management, and the organizers will play primarily consultative and facilitative roles.</div>
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<div><strong>Inputs from resource persons and workshop participants</strong>: The session will begin with inputs from one or two resource persons who will make presentations on the key aspects of strategic campaign plan. The objective of these presentations is to give the participants the basic idea about the issues and problems involved in each element of the strategic campaign plan.</div>
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<div><strong>Small Working Group Sessions</strong>: Guided by the inputs, the participants will be asked to break into working groups and engage into brainstorming sessions on what lessons they can learn, or best practices they can replicate, from the presentations of resource persons or their fellow participants. Each group is expected to summarize its discussion and appoint a representative to report the working group outcomes to the plenary.</div>
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<div><strong>Open Discussion and Synthesis</strong>: The presentations of the resource persons, workshop participants and working group representatives will all be followed by an open forum where the participants can ask questions or make comments. A synthesis will also be delivered by the workshop facilitator after each session.</div>
