Issues considering the voting system

Philippines completes first computerized polls
By Melvin G. Calimag , ZDNet AsiaTuesday, August 12, 2008 08:35 PM

PHILIPPINES--Despite threats of postponement and intermittent skirmishes between rebel and government troops, the country's first computerized election has been conducted smoothly--though only in some parts of the troubled Mindanao region.

The automated polls proceeded with minor problems on Aug. 11, with about 85 percent of 10.5 million registered voters casting their vote, according to election officials. The landmark election was confined within the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), an aggregation of areas in the southern island populated mostly by Muslim inhabitants.

The Philippine government spent some 600 million pesos (US$13.6 million) in the computerized election, which served as a test-pilot for the country's general elections in 2010.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said a few voting machines malfunctioned during the election, but these were promptly fixed by local contractors.

The Comelec used two electronic voting systems for the polls: DRE (direct recording electronic) system for the province of Maguindanao, and OMR (optical mark reader) technology for the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Shariff Kabunsuan and Lanao del Sur.

The DRE system allows voters to select on-screen the picture of the candidate they wish to elect. With the OMR technology, voters are required to shade an oval box next to the candidate's name on a paper ballot, which will then be scanned and the vote automatically captured by OMR-enabled machines.

The Comelec, tasked to determine which technology will be used for the 2010 elections, deployed about 3,300 machines in Maguindanao and 156 automated counting machines in the other five provinces.

Elections commissioner Moslemen Macarambon reported that Rajah Buayan, located some 45 kilometers from the provincial capitol, was the first municipality in Maguindanao to transmit its election results.

Asked about the polls in the entire province of Maguindanao, Macarambon said: "[It was] generally smooth [and] orderly because no single report of any untoward incident has reached us."

He estimated the total voter-turnout in the province was at least 85 percent, based on election results transmitted so far, to the counting center.

The election had proceeded amid hostilities--that escalated on election day--between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the country's military forces, in the neighboring province of North Cotabato and a significant part of Maguindanao.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a blog post that the ARMM poll was a significant milestone in the country's election reform, noting that voters showed enthusiasm in using automated voting machines amid security problems. "We have seen the long queues of voters eagerly waiting for their turn to vote using the electronic voting machines," Jimenez said.
Vince Dizon, spokesperson for equipment supplier Smartmatic-Sahi, said in a statement that the computer glitches encountered in some precincts should not be considered a major problem since the company's field support technicians were quick to resolve the bugs.
"We had deployed backup machines to serve as contingency in case any of the machines were bogged down," Dizon said.

Smartmatic-Sahi also set up a call center in Manila to serve as technical support hub for its field support technicians, who were deployed in the various voting centers across Maguindanao and canvassing centers in the rest of the provinces within the ARMM.

Local TV reports also featured voters who said the automated voting machines were more convenient and easy to use, compared to the manual voting process. The reports also included interviews with poll precinct officials, particularly teachers, who said the automated systems were easier to use and administer.

A TV news report noted that the main office of the Comelec was able to provide a preliminary tally of votes just a few hours after the precincts closed, compared to the weeks--if not, months--previously required using the manual system.

The Comelec added that the actual printing of official ballots was broadcast live over the Internet a few days before the election was held.

A 22-man foreign delegation from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand, also observed the election process.

The Philippine government had attempted to postpone the use of computerized voting in the election, because it was involved in ongoing negotiations with the MILF and wanted the separatist group to participate in the electoral exercise.

However, Comelec commissioner Rene Sarmiento made an impassioned speech to a Congressional committee urging the country to take the opportunity to trial the e-voting system.
"No elections, no lessons in automation, and no equipment to use if and when the elections push through," Sarmiento had said. "The peace formula should be: on with the peace process, on with the electionsÂ… Let us proceed with the elections, and together reap the benefits of automation."

Melvin G. Calimag is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.