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| Source: Google Images |
In 2013, the popularity of e-voting
technology continued to expand across all corners of the globe, including notable
countries as India and The Philippines. In fact, the election held last May in
the latter could serve as a great example for e-voting in other Southeast Asian
countries.
The Philippines have
received kudos from FutureGov, an online and print publication that looks
for trends in relation to e-commerce, information technology and the
governmental initiatives that support their development. Publisher James Smith
commended the Filipino community for “putting technology to new and better
use.”
This remark was related to the recent midterm
elections held in May 2013 where the Philippines employed an automated
e-voting platform to streamline and secure the electoral process. Optical scan
machines were used to count the votes and canvass the results, working far
faster than the manual method. The increased speed also meant that results
could be reported sooner and with greater accuracy, giving the whole electoral
process more transparency and validity.
Taking the Philippines as a case in point of
how to successfully adopt and implement an automated voting technology, other countries
in Southeast Asia should evaluate the Philippine example to improve their own
electoral methods and fortify their Democracies.
The current electoral process in Malaysia appears
very archaic by comparison. In addition to using manual voting with paper
ballots that are then folded and inserted into a ballot box with a ruler,
people who have voted are marked with indelible ink on their left forefinger to
prevent them from casting a second ballot at another voting booth. If a
biometric authentication system was employed to check the voter’s identity against
a central database before he/she casts his/her ballot, the indelible ink mark
would no longer be required. Electronic ballots could also simplify the
selection of multiple candidates and offer far greater security and secrecy
than a folded paper ballot in a ballot box.
Meanwhile in Indonesia, the presidential
election is scheduled to take place around the middle of July 2014. For this event,
the government and electoral officials are working toward an implementation
of a new e-voting system. E-voting had been used previously in certain
districts, like Denspasar (Bali) and Yogyakarta (Java), but this would
represent the first time that such a system would see widespread usage
throughout the country.
Marzan Aziz Iskander, head of the Agency for the Assessment and
Application of Technology (BPPT), has said that the successful use of e-voting
would require the full introduction of e-KTP. These are the electronic identity
cards that would have to be issued to every eligible voter. Then, additional
infrastructure is also needed, like the ballot scanners and other equipment. To
ease their way toward e-voting, Indonesian officials are considering the
electronic counting of ballots first. This would at least expedite vote
counting and reduce certain costs in the interim.
By learning from and following the example
set by the Philippine election, Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries can be
better prepared to face some of the challenges that may arise with the
implementation of electronic voting systems.
