Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Armm election watchdog holds automation demo By Malu C. Manar
COTABATO CITY -- A leader of a poll watchdog in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) expressed optimism that the automated elections this August will make a difference in the history of Armm elections.
"It is a sad reality that historically, Armm elections have been marred by fraud, violence, and irregularities," said Salic Ibrahim, chair of the Citizens Coalition for Armm Electoral Reforms (C-Care).
Ibrahim, also head of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), a group organized by poll watchdogs in the region in May 2008, said the poll automation will restore credible elections in Armm.
"An election is vital in a democratic society and the state should ensure that peoples' right to choose their leaders is protected," he said.
The use of computers this August is, in itself, a guarantee that votes would be counted and tallied fast, he said.
"Thus, educating the voters on the new technologies is important," he added.
It was Citizens Care, the lead convener of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for the August 11, 2008 Armm Elections, that organized the first-ever provincial public forum on poll automation held at the Estosan Garden Hotel in Cotabato City in June 3 and 4.
Helping Citizens Care were other key co-conveners of the RCC, including the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), Bangsamoro Lawyers Network (BLN), National Movement for Free Election (Namfrel), Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), Bishops-Ulama Council (BUC), Bangsamoro Women Solidarity Forum (BWSF), and Federation of United Mindanawan Bangsamoro Women Multi-Purpose Cooperative (FUMBWMPC).
Technical experts from Smartmatic-Sahi Technologies Inc. and Avante International Technology Inc. took part in the public demonstration of the two types of technologies for the automated Armm elections.
Smartmatic is the provider of the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) technology, which will be used for the entire province of Maguindanao, while Avante will provide the Optical Mark-sense Reader (OMR) technology for the rest of the Armm provinces, including Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The DRE system uses touch-screen or touch-pad technology and is fully automated from the voting to counting and final transmission of results to canvassing centers at the provincial and regional levels.
OMR Technology, on the other hand, requires voters to fill out a paper ballot, which is scanned by specially designed machines.
Armm Regional Director Ray Sumalipao urged the public, especially election watchdogs, to help the Commission on Election (Comelec) educate the voters on the automated system and monitor the conduct of the upcoming regional elections.
Sumalipao said the collaboration and partnership between Comelec and Citizens Care, with other civil society organizations in Armm, should be sustained and strengthened.
