As of this moment, Smartmatic, a Netherlands-based company, and TIM(Total Information Management), have once again joined arms after having a dispute over the handling of the budget for the upcoming automated elections on May 2010. A few days ago, these two companies decided that they would not go on further as the primary handlers of the upcoming automated elections because they could not decide as to how the P7.2 billion budget for the May 2010 automated elections will be handled. This caused suspense and apprehension in the Philippines, because all were thinking that we would go back again to our traditional manual style of voting, or worse was that no elections would happen, although President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo already confirmed that we need not panic because there will be a May 2010 elections that will happen. Now, we are sure that we will have an automated elections this 2010.
But what really are the advantages of having an electronic and automated election instead of the traditional manual system of voting and canvassing of votes? According to Senator Richard Gordon, these were the key benefits and advantages of the system.
1. Automated elections will result to faster election results.
What used to take two months will now take, at most, a day. Political contests will not drag on as in the past. Nobody will have time to call anybody while the count is being made.
This is very true. I’ve always really criticized our manual system of voting, because when I see the US do their elections, just like their recent elections where President Barack Obama won, it doesn’t take months to decare who won. Days are counted, and not months, before there is a winner there. I think a day is enough, before there is a declaration. Here, after the elections, we see politicians declaring that they were cheated if they notice that their votes are falling down. And also political protests and rallies in the streets are common after we have an election and while the votes are tallied.
2. It will stop wholesale cheating like "Dagdag Bawas", which has to do with massive changing of election returns.
Because the election is automated, the tallying of the votes is also automated, and will not be managed manually, like writing. Therefore, the use of “Dagdag Bawas” will not be happening, that is tampering of the votes while tallying, putting the votes of others into other candidates.
3. The system is technology neutral. We did not design it for a particular company. We won't be locked into any technology at present, but rather remain open to more modern technologies as they are developed and tested in future.
Utilizing technology is really beneficial to people, although it also has its downsides. But, like the use of technology in the elections, just like now, we are using technology as a means to deliver an accurate and more reliable election. The technology now is good, but if there are possible developments to make the automated election more secure and more reliable, then we can also use that.
4. Only systems with demonstrated capability will be used.
All the equipment and all the technology that will be used in the upcoming May 2010 elections did not just appear and were decided upon to be used. These were tested by Comelec on standards and certain conditions before they were used. There were several companies that were decided upon, and Smartmatic won the bidding.
5. It provides for automatic random manual audit.
As for the auditing, we are assured that it will be a fast one because all the results are already in a form where it will be easy to handle, not like the past elections. And also, random people will take over it.
But even though we know that the automated elections will have a positive effect in our maturity as a nation, there are still some people that are skeptical about it. They say that the automated elections will subject to cheating. Politicians could hire IT experts that could hack the machines to be used in the elections and they could make the outcome be in their advantage. But if proper security measures and back-up plans will be made, which I am sure they are doing now, there will be an honest election that will take place. Unless these “politicians” are really bent on doing everything possible to ensure their seat in the following term, we cannot help if they result to even malevolent activity. In that situation, we will rely on our police and our military, and not blame the failure on the fact that we are having an electronic and automated election. Also, if we were to have an automated election and the proclamation would be just a day or two after the voting, then, if and only if, there will be election-related violence that would take place, then the Comelec could focus more on that, and not on the protest rallies and the petitions of politicians that could not take that they were beaten and would always say that they were cheated. There would be fewer controversies because the results of the votes would not be handled by hand by people and there would be less speculation, because the votes would be handled electronically, and only specified people would be allowed to handle it.
For me, having this kind of election, which is an electronic and automated one, will be a small step by the Philippines to grow maturely, and to erase the “Third World” name that we have had for a very long, long time. Look at the US, the results of their elections are given in a span of days, not months just like ours. And we could also say that their politicians there are disciplined and mature, because they would not hesitate to recede if they knew that they could not make the position that they wish to win in. Not like here in the Philippines, were they say there are two kinds of politicians during the elections; those who win, and those who were cheated. There are no losers, they say. The protest even continues even after the candidate that won has already been seated. The news every night would always be the party that lost or his/her family and relatives, saying that they were cheated.
This change that we will be making will not take overnight to be a perfect one. It will be a gradual process, towards what we will call “a clean and honest election”. Even in other countries, there is still no perfect electronic election system in the world. All have their own problems that they are dealing with.
With this technology now, our way of voting and electing has progressed, and it will continue to develop as time goes by, slowly learning from mistakes until we learn our lessons. Having a fast and credible electoral process is a challenge that we Filipinos must improve. The problem of political dispute, corruption, honesty and proper governance is another.
But what really are the advantages of having an electronic and automated election instead of the traditional manual system of voting and canvassing of votes? According to Senator Richard Gordon, these were the key benefits and advantages of the system.
1. Automated elections will result to faster election results.
What used to take two months will now take, at most, a day. Political contests will not drag on as in the past. Nobody will have time to call anybody while the count is being made.
This is very true. I’ve always really criticized our manual system of voting, because when I see the US do their elections, just like their recent elections where President Barack Obama won, it doesn’t take months to decare who won. Days are counted, and not months, before there is a winner there. I think a day is enough, before there is a declaration. Here, after the elections, we see politicians declaring that they were cheated if they notice that their votes are falling down. And also political protests and rallies in the streets are common after we have an election and while the votes are tallied.
2. It will stop wholesale cheating like "Dagdag Bawas", which has to do with massive changing of election returns.
Because the election is automated, the tallying of the votes is also automated, and will not be managed manually, like writing. Therefore, the use of “Dagdag Bawas” will not be happening, that is tampering of the votes while tallying, putting the votes of others into other candidates.
3. The system is technology neutral. We did not design it for a particular company. We won't be locked into any technology at present, but rather remain open to more modern technologies as they are developed and tested in future.
Utilizing technology is really beneficial to people, although it also has its downsides. But, like the use of technology in the elections, just like now, we are using technology as a means to deliver an accurate and more reliable election. The technology now is good, but if there are possible developments to make the automated election more secure and more reliable, then we can also use that.
4. Only systems with demonstrated capability will be used.
All the equipment and all the technology that will be used in the upcoming May 2010 elections did not just appear and were decided upon to be used. These were tested by Comelec on standards and certain conditions before they were used. There were several companies that were decided upon, and Smartmatic won the bidding.
5. It provides for automatic random manual audit.
As for the auditing, we are assured that it will be a fast one because all the results are already in a form where it will be easy to handle, not like the past elections. And also, random people will take over it.
But even though we know that the automated elections will have a positive effect in our maturity as a nation, there are still some people that are skeptical about it. They say that the automated elections will subject to cheating. Politicians could hire IT experts that could hack the machines to be used in the elections and they could make the outcome be in their advantage. But if proper security measures and back-up plans will be made, which I am sure they are doing now, there will be an honest election that will take place. Unless these “politicians” are really bent on doing everything possible to ensure their seat in the following term, we cannot help if they result to even malevolent activity. In that situation, we will rely on our police and our military, and not blame the failure on the fact that we are having an electronic and automated election. Also, if we were to have an automated election and the proclamation would be just a day or two after the voting, then, if and only if, there will be election-related violence that would take place, then the Comelec could focus more on that, and not on the protest rallies and the petitions of politicians that could not take that they were beaten and would always say that they were cheated. There would be fewer controversies because the results of the votes would not be handled by hand by people and there would be less speculation, because the votes would be handled electronically, and only specified people would be allowed to handle it.
For me, having this kind of election, which is an electronic and automated one, will be a small step by the Philippines to grow maturely, and to erase the “Third World” name that we have had for a very long, long time. Look at the US, the results of their elections are given in a span of days, not months just like ours. And we could also say that their politicians there are disciplined and mature, because they would not hesitate to recede if they knew that they could not make the position that they wish to win in. Not like here in the Philippines, were they say there are two kinds of politicians during the elections; those who win, and those who were cheated. There are no losers, they say. The protest even continues even after the candidate that won has already been seated. The news every night would always be the party that lost or his/her family and relatives, saying that they were cheated.
This change that we will be making will not take overnight to be a perfect one. It will be a gradual process, towards what we will call “a clean and honest election”. Even in other countries, there is still no perfect electronic election system in the world. All have their own problems that they are dealing with.
With this technology now, our way of voting and electing has progressed, and it will continue to develop as time goes by, slowly learning from mistakes until we learn our lessons. Having a fast and credible electoral process is a challenge that we Filipinos must improve. The problem of political dispute, corruption, honesty and proper governance is another.
References:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080513-136300/Computer_group_assesses_planned_ARMM_automated_elections
http://www.comelec.gov.ph/modernization/automation_hist1996.html
http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2009/0318_gordon1.asp
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