go for the Automated Election
Automated election
The Commission on Election (Comelec) has made a resolution in which they decided to convert from manual form of election to the modernized or automated form of election.
Since 2007 they made a resolution to prevent or lessen the election irregularities such as vote cheating.
In the post survey of June 2007 by the SWS regarding the prevention of election irregularities majority of the respondents are in favor of automated election.
Before converting the election system, the Comelec chairman said that after the resolution they will they will be heading a special bidding and who ever gonna won in this bidding would be able to manufacture the one of the biggest project of the government which is the machines that will be used during the election.
Last March 2009, the bidding of the different companies has started, it runs one and a half month to choose what company will handle this project.
There are two companies who won the bidding the Smartmatics and TIM (total information management Corp.)
Smartmatic (also referred as Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International) is a multinational corporation founded in 2000 that specializes in the design and deployment of complex purpose-specific technology solutions.
It is organized around three business areas: Electronic voting systems, integrated security systems, and biometric systems for people registration and authentication for government applications.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartmatic
Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation is a wholly Filipino owned Information Technology (IT) company with nationwide operations offering varied products and services. It considers itself as "The Filipino IT Company" competing in a field dominated by multinationals.
In all its undertakings, TIM has pursued the challenge to excel. It is this intensity and dedication that enabled TIM to win accolades and recognition from its foreign technology partners every year. Consistently showing double digit growth rates in the last decade, TIM has always been counted among the country's top 1000 corporate enterprises.
http://www.timcorp.net/main/index.php?pg=about.tim
Before the bidding happens the ARMM voters undergo a post automation thru marking ballots that later fed into optical mark reader counting machines. The result of this post-automation is said to be excellent because the counting of votes was done in a short period o time.
The election irregularities such as vote buying, cheating the counting of votes, flying voters, and harassment of voters that commonly happens to the localities are proven and witnessed but no one complaint because of harm that can be caused. Most of the irregularities were done in the ARMM that’s why they call it Capital of Vote cheating in the
Thats why the commission on election decided to make a resolution in the
I just want to share the articles Ive read
I. SITUATIONER
The conduct of elections in the
unchanged. Philippine elections rely heavily on manual tallying and canvassing of votes thus making
them vulnerable to control and manipulation by traditional politicians and those with vested interests.
The cost of winning an elective post is highly expensive, and the absence of mechanisms to check
and limit sources of campaign funds become fertile grounds for corruption and divisiveness.
In recent years, initiatives to reform the electoral system included the enactment of the
following laws: Republic Act (RA) 8046, establishing a pilot program modernizing the registration
and vote counting process in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Party List Law,
Fair Elections Act and the Absentee Voting Act. To address the inadequacies and limitations of the
electoral process, RA 8436 or the Election Automation Act of 1997, was passed authorizing the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to use automated election system for vote counting and
canvassing in the national and local polls. The law provided for the generation of a national
computerized voters list, establishment of a voters identification card system and the automation of
the vote counting.
However, sectoral issues still hinder reform efforts in the electoral process. The following
have been identified as basic problems afflicting the electoral system: (a) outdated electoral
process; (b) failure to implement the electoral modernization law; (c) limited administrative and
regulatory capabilities of the COMELEC; (d) ineffective educational/information campaigns on
new laws and policies; (e) weak political party system; (f) unaccountable political financing; and
(g) defective party list system (Governance Assessment, 2003).
II. GOALS, STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS
To ensure a credible and transparent electoral process, the modernization of the electoral
system through computerization shall be supported to ensure the credibility of polls and correct the
deficiencies in the electoral system. Likewise, the Omnibus Election Code shall be further revised
and amended to respond to the needs of the present electoral system.
Measures to strengthen the party system and regulate the activities of political parties shall
be created. State financing of political parties shall also be considered through the passage of the
Campaign Finance Bill.
The COMELEC’s capacity to raise the level of political discourse and educate citizens
regarding their right to vote will be enhanced. This will be done through conduct of continuing
citizen and voter education through partnership with civil society groups and other government
institutions. The electorate must be empowered with information that would help them vote
intelligently. The challenge is to develop the people’s appreciation of their vote as a means to
reform the government and receive better services from it. Part of this challenge is the need to
raise the awareness of the electorate on relevant issues and the corresponding platforms of the
candidates, if the country is to shift from the politics of personality to the politics of party
programs.
Philippines
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines will hold automated presidential elections next year after the partners of a joint venture that won a $150 million deal to supply counting machines patched up their differences on Friday, officials said.
"We're back to automation," Jose Melo, head of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), told reporters after Filipino company Total Information Management signed a joint venture agreement with Barbados-based Smartmatic to supply 82,200 counting machines.
Lawmakers, political groups and analysts have previously cast doubts over the automated process. Many feared chaos due to potential machine breakdowns and delays in results transmission, which could lead to a failed election and political limbo.
But analysts say even manual counting would expose the elections to the likelihood of fraud. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has faced four attempts at impeachment on charges she cheated in the last presidential election in 2004.
Melo said the incorporation papers of the joint venture to supply vote counting machines will be filed before the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday and the contract with Comelec will be signed on Friday, the final deadline to automate the elections in May 2010.
If no automation contract is signed by July 10, Melo said the
The automation should provide results within two days of voting instead of the weeks it takes currently, the agency has said.
On Monday, Melo said the plan to automate polls was likely to be scrapped because Smartmatic's local partner broke off from the deal due to differences, but gave the partners until Friday to resolve their dispute.
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-40785720090703
Even though the TIM backed out, I am still pro to automated elections because it enables the voter to cast their votes secretly in easiest and fastest way. Election can avoid from irregularities , malpractice or any form of election frauds. And the counting and recounting of the votes would be easily done by the Commission on Election.
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