www.nordis.net
An automated electoral system (AES) by itself is not bad. In fact, the Philippines should move in that direction from the very outdated manual count — the whole matter of modernisation. Kumbaga e dapat lang naman. So let us take, case it point, the AES in the context of the Philippine elections, to gather the facts but not distort them as we please, but to make an informed declaration on the AES. To be precise, AES for whom?
As early as the 2010 national and 2013 midterm elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) entered into contracts with a foreign business, UK-based Smartmatic International, to run the automated elections. Data from IBON tells us that for the 2016 elections, Comelec leased a total of 97,517 Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) from Smartmatic for about P8.03 million. In 2010, Smartmatic leased to the poll body 84,000 Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machines for P7.2 million. In 2013, Comelec purchased from Smartmatic some 82,000 PCOS machines. This shows that Smartmatic clearly profited from this lucrative partnership, bagging more than P17 million from its PCOS/VCM transactions with Comelec for the past three years, including 2016.
Clearly, Comelec relegated its mandate to a private and foreign business keen at nothing but profiting from its ventures. No other than former Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes was quoted in 2010 saying that the “Comelec was most dependent on Smartmatic such that Smartmatic practically ran the entire elections, not the Comelec”. It is outright appalling, and the entirety of the Filipino citizenry may not have realized it yet, than an unaccountable private, foreign business has control over our elections. To most, the AES is in fact a relief from the long cues and long hours of manual counting, thus its acceptability. There are, however, other angles to be examined.
The nature of the country’s electoral system goes beyond how it is conducted — manually or electronically. It is a mechanism for power by the ruling few advance their political and economic interests, therefore undemocratic and undermines democracy and sovereignty. Thus, the problem is beyond the Comelec itself. The fundamental problem of the electoral system is its very nature, and it is made worse when controlled by a private and foreign business that makes it easier for the ruling factions to cheat. It is therefore the privilege of the highest bidder — the one with the most resources and connections — to buy victory in the elections.
Modernising the conduct of the elections through technology is not entirely bad. But it should be based on the principles of transparency, credibility and people’s empowerment. It should not be in the context of the prevailing electoral system that is governed by guns, goons and gold. # nordis.net
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