Left may provide swing vote in 2004.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Carlito Pablo and Norman Bordadora

AFTER ITS disastrous decision to boycott the 1986 snap elections, the mainstream Left is poised to play a major role in the 2004 presidential polls, and could even provide the crucial swing vote that would ensure victory for their favored presidential candidate.

With the ratings of the presidential aspirants closely bunched together and no one having a clear track to Malacanang, an endorsement by the Left could spell the difference in the May 2004 elections.

Rep. Satur Ocampo, national president of the Bayan Muna party-list group, yesterday said the "mainstream leftist movement might throw the support of its close to two million supporters behind the national candidate whose program of action would come close to their leanings on political and economic issues."

Ocampo's boast is not without basis. In the 2001 party-list elections, Bayan Muna clinched an "unprecedented" 1.7 million votes nationwide, the biggest by a party-list group since the party-list system was introduced in Congress.

Ocampo said the Left would decide whom to support before Bayan Muna holds its national convention on Jan. 13.