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There's another election going on: Who gets to stay in MNL48?

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Vince Garcia, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/04/26/mnl48-3.jpg"/><figcaption>The election to determine the members of MNL48 going forward is set to culminate this Saturday. <em>Hallohallo Entertainment</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>A woman walks into frame, plays a beautiful melody via a music box, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2aTV-o9M9M">whispers into a hanging microphone</a>. It’s to elicit a euphoric feeling of calm, she explains, before gently tapping a plastic jar. </p><p>In another video, a different girl <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djKDOhqyoBc">pulls out old, embarrassing pictures</a> of her to funnily highlight how far she has come.</p><p>Both are “campaign videos,” and they are for an election quite different from what you are possibly thinking of. This is not your typical “halalan,” which usually features grey-haired, middle-aged men. </p><p>No, this one is being held to determine who among the dozens of teenagers and young women get to stay in the all-female group MNL48. </p><p>The “Senbatsu Sousenkyo” is a concept borrowed from their sister group, Japan’s AKB48. It is an annual popularity contest where fans need to buy merchandise in order to vote. </p><p>In MNL48’s case, those interested had to get a copy of their latest single, “365 Araw ng Eroplanong Papel,” among other items, to secure a code which they can then use on an app to vote. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/04/05/19/watch-mnl48-debuts-new-music-video-365-araw-ng-eroplanong-papel">WATCH: MNL48 debuts new music video &#x27;365 Araw ng Eroplanong Papel&#x27;</a></li></ul><p>It is set to culminate in an event this Saturday at the ABS-CBN Tent in Vertis North, where the top 48 will be announced.</p><p>Sheki Arzaga, who won the first edition last year, said that the whole process, while tough on the members, has helped foster a healthy competition within the group. </p><p>“Dito namin natututunan kung paano i-set aside iyong emotions po namin,” she explained. “Hindi po ito nangyayari para masira ang relasyong nabuo namin sa isa’t-isa.” </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/04/26/sela1.jpg"/><figcaption>Sela, the girl in the middle, celebrates her birthday with her fans at an event held in a cafe in Quezon City earlier this month. <em>Hallohallo Entertainment</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Sela Guia, who came in second behind Arzaga, shares this sentiment, though she added that she has mixed feelings about putting a price tag on each vote. </p><p>A single CD costs P250, but some fans buy multiple copies to help their favorite win. </p><p>“I’m going to be be honest here: Filipinos put all their major blood and sweat just to earn money, and personally I don’t know how to feel whenever our fans pour their savings just to save us from this general election,” she admitted. </p><p>In Japan, the contest, designed primarily to boost CD sales, draws in more than a million votes each year. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/04/26/mnl48-1.jpg"/><figcaption>The MNL48 girls have been doing mall shows to sell CDs —one of the ways they do to garner votes aside from designing posters, going live on Instagram and Facebook, and posting photos and videos online. <em>Hallohallo Entertainment</em></figcaption></figure></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/04/26/mnl48-2.jpg"/><figcaption>MNL8 members also visited schools around the metro to promote their newest single, “365 Araw ng Eroplanong Papel.” <em>Hallohallo Entertainment</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Ricky Cortez, a college student who logged in several votes for his favorite member, Ash Garcia, said that the election is a way for fans to tangibly show their support. </p><p>“I want to see her become the idol she wants to be,” he said. </p><p>He did add that he does not approve of the decision of Hallohallo Entertainment (HHE) — the company that manages MNL48 — to eliminate members who will not make the cut as AKB48 normally just rotates members depending on the results. </p><p>MNL48 has 77 candidates total — current members and aspirants — vying for a spot.</p><p>HHE president Paulo Kurosawa said in an interview with <a href="https://www.animepilipinas.com/2019/03/20/making-mnl48-exciting-for-the-fans/">Anime Pilipinas</a> that financial constraints have forced their hand. </p><p>He explained that unlike with AKB48, where members are handled by different talent agencies, the MNL48 girls are all signed with HHE, making it “impossible” to maintain a large group. </p><p>This added pressure of possibly being cut has taken a toll on some of its members like Garcia, who admitted that she finds it difficult to stand out to from the other members to increase her chances because she says she’s not as “talented” nor as “pretty.” </p><p>She finished outside of the top 7 last year, but was eventually included in it after some members quit. </p><p>She said that one of the main reasons why she has not left is because of the fans: “We are not the only ones who are stressed in dealing with the elections, but also them. Seeing their efforts to help us keep on chasing our dreams is my driving force to keep going.”</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwjs8Qhhm6j/" data-instgrm-version="12" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwjs8Qhhm6j/" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 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translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><p style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwjs8Qhhm6j/" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by MNL48 Ash (@ash.mnl48official)</a> on <time dateTime="2019-04-22T12:29:17+00:00" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px">Apr 22, 2019 at 5:29am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>

<p>MNL48 has 77 candidates total — current members and aspirants — vying for a spot. </p>

MNL48 has 77 candidates total — current members and aspirants — vying for a spot.

There's another election going on: Who gets to stay in MNL48?

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There's another election going on: Who gets to stay in MNL48?

Vince Garcia,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 26, 2019 12:01 PM PHT

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MNL48

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