In our digital-driven
world, technological innovation has become an essential pillar to carry out
routine activities as well as to stay updated and at par with others. Elections
are one of the many areas where some countries are reaping the benefits
technology has to offer.
Three examples in the election field are
the registration of voters, the adoption of electronic voting machines, and the
use of digital platforms to share and inform election details to stakeholders
via SMS, emails, or social networks.
Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia
and Singapore currently are global technology hubs. Yet, they have not taken full advantage of it to make election
processes easier, more robust, and public
friendlier.
Most South Asians[1] and
Southeast Asians[2]
have historically relied on the traditional methods of elections, i.e. with limited use of technology, and they
continue to do so. Voters still must go through dated registration and voting
processes, including long queues to manually cast their ballots, and waiting
days -or weeks- to get official election results.
India and The Philippines
India in Southern Asia and The
Philippines in Southeast Asia, however, have led
the train of change on e-voting. For the last decade, voters in both countries have
been casting ballots through electronic voting machines, with significant and positive
results for Election management bodies (EMB) regarding ease of use,
speediness, and efficiency of the voting technology.
According to a recent paper: Independent
Electoral Commissions (IECs) for
Inclusive, Honest, Orderly, and Peaceful Elections presented at the
25th World Congress of Political Science (July 2018), “The automation of
elections in the Philippines despite the numerous organizational and technical issues,
had an overall positive effect on public trust in the voting process, and
public confidence in the COMELEC. The adoption of an automated election system
also triggered institutional changes and improvements in the COMELEC.”
Other countries in the region are following
The Philippines and India, and they are starting procedures to upgrade and trial
new election technologies. Electronic voting pilots have taken place in
Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Mongolia. While Biometric voting
registration has been adopted in
Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal.
Social networks help
Let us not forget social media is also
inducing voting consciously in the region to a vast
extent. People in Southeast Asia are using these networks to convey an array of
ideas and perspectives diluting knowledge for others.
Social platforms are acting as a forum
to discuss the pros and cons of a candidate or a party contesting elections, helping
leaders or candidates to connect with the public, and grasp a trend of public
needs and expectations.
Therefore, even if countries in Southern
and Southeast Asia are not widely benefitting from election technology just
yet, there are some leading examples and several domains in which digital
transformation is smoothing the election cycles.
[1] Current territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives,
Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka form South Asia.
[2] Current territories of Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Singapore, The Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam form Southeast Asia.
