Tuesday, August 05, 2008 Armm poll machines arrive By Nash B. Maulana Contributor
COTABATO CITY -- All automated polling machines to serve each of Maguindanao's 3,000 polling precincts have been delivered for the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
Elections officials accompanied by computer technicians said the machine can tabulate and transmit polling results to a canvassing center and forward them to the national headquarters of the Commission on Elections (Commelec) within 16 hours from the start of the regional elections on Monday.
With all pre-proclamation legal contests at provincial level, provincial elections supervisor Kasan Usi said proclamation of winners could take place on the third day.
Comelec would be using direct recording electronic (DRE) system computers in Maguindanao, and each unit is made up of a voting pad, screen and a control button.
Some 3,000 DRE machines have been delivered for use and back up for around 3,000 polling precincts in Maguindanao, according to Comelec officials and its supplier, Smartmatic-Sahi.
Smartmatic-Sahi representatives said they believed they were providing the elections with the appropriate technology and ably sufficient human resources for reliability and efficiency.
Asked if frequent power outage in Armm provinces would not affect the automated electoral exercise, Vince Dizon, spokesperson of the Smartamatic-Sahi, said they have sufficient battery packs for alternative current back up to last in 16 hours.
Three photographs appear on screen for a voter's choice of gubernatorial candidate -- the ones of reelectionist Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Esmael Arabani, and of controversial Indanan, Sulu Mayor Alvarez Isnaji.
Three other images, including a picture of incumbent and reelectionist Vice-Governor Ansaruddin Adiong, are also programmed to electronically appear on screen for the voters' selection of bet for his post.
Local elections watchdog groups have continued with their voters' education program despite uncertainly in Congress on whether it would be able to beat the August 11 deadline to reset the election, as the government has been so requested by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Fr. David Procalla, ICC, Central Mindanao coordinator for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said his group had not called off its activities for voters' education in preparation for the coming elections and that it was working along with volunteers of the Consortium of Citizens' Action for Reforming the Elections (C-Care) in other four provinces of the region.
"Until it's finally cancelled and postponed by Congress, we will not stop preparing through conducting voters' education," Procalla said of the Armm elections and the polls watchdog groups' role.
Using a touch-screen monitor, the voter simply has to tap from the photographs of candidates for governor, vice-governor, and three from a lineup of candidates for the regional assembly whose pictures appear on screen.
Second, a question appears as to whether the voter was sure of his choice.
The voter then will punch on the voting pad either the word "Oo" (yes) or "Hindi" (No). Next, the voter presses a button for corresponding gender.
The voter then presses the word "Boto" or vote on the screen to confirm the votes.
