To concede is an act of grace

There’s much to be said about politicians who  sit on their pride and concede defeat in an election. First, it’s rare behavior.

It goes  against the grain of a well-nurtured ego and strenuous campaign efforts. The sacrifice  is almost patriotic.

Second, conceding a poll loss saves the non-winner and his supporters from a longer spell of  teeth-gnashing.  A setback in one’s political career can be overcome more quickly by looking ahead to the next goal.  A leader has to redirect the angst of his troops  to another triumph in the horizon.

Third, contrary to popular belief, conceding does not bind the candidate to accept the results as a valid judgment.  He can still file an election protest later if wide-scale cheating took place.

Fourth, it’s less expensive to take your loss early and take stock of what went wrong.

Last, in losing to an opponent, one doesn’t have to lose personal  dignity as well.  The  humbled one who bows out of the arena after the ballots are counted can use  the heartbreaking pause  to say “thank you” to those who brought  the candidate that far in the journey and “good luck” to the new star.

Doing so   earns the goodwill of both foe and a public gratefeul not to have to endure a lengthier bitter contest that is long on lamentation and short on facts.

Unless there is People Power-dimension outrage over the defeat of a candidate, the non-winner who rails on and on about the grave injustice done to his ambition will miss the message:  The people have spoken. You are not the one they want. Destiny and the cosmos are not aligned in your favor, at least for now.  Move on.

This makes the last hurrah of Rep. Eduardo Gullas  a poignant lesson in letting go.

He lost bigtime in the May 13 mayoralty election  of Talisay City where what should have a senior citizen’s stroll in the park was upset by  730 votes in favor of non-politico Johnny “JVR” delos Reyes.

A kingpin  like Eddiegul, with over 40 years in politics and the favor of five presidents,  has the resources  to spoil  the unexpected triumph of a neighborhood do-gooder like JVR, who has more experience losing an election (five rounds) than winning one.

But Gullas, who had serious campaign firefighting to do in Talisay over  ill will of vendors,  tricycle drivers and ordinary folk that had festered over the two-year closure of the old Tabunok market, read the temper of the times.

Monday balloting ended at 7 p.m.   By Tuesday morning, the final tallies were made.  By late afternoon, in the midst of meetings with lawyers and disheartened supporters, Gullas sent out his statement:

“In my long political career, I won in all elections except this last one. Forever I shall remember and be grateful to the electorate of the province as well as of the 1st district.  Against the advice of my lawyers and loyal supporters, I humbly concede to my worthy opponent. May God bless us all, particularly the good people of Talisay.”

That exit is the difference between a statesman non-winner and a loser.