MANILA, May 14, 2013— Despite glitches of yesterday conduct of the automated polls, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said the country’s next elections should stay fully automated.
PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa said that going back to manual election is not practical since the automated system has proven to faster in terms of transmission of results and not prone to fraud.
“At this point I would never recommend manual (election) because we have not yet reached that political maturity,” de Villa said.
According to her, it’s not prudent to give up automation since it has not yet exhausted its full potential such as the voters fully trusting the system to the point they would no longer need poll watchers.
“In the US, there is no such thing as watchdog because they have political maturity. This is part of the maturity that we have to get involved. It’s a citizen’s effort,” de Villa said.
“But here, mudslinging, vote-buying and vote-selling are still continuing,” she said. “In the automated election system, vote padding and shaving. The transmission of results is also fast so there is not enough space for manipulation.”
Stressful
The PPCRV head also admitted that this year’s election was more “stressful” because “you have to outdo the performance of 2010 (elections).”
“The stress was more this 2013… maybe also because of the heightened suspicion. I think the stress also came from the stone throwing against the system, the poll body and the PPCRV,” she said.
With the “good” turnout of yesterday’s elections, De Villa is hoping that it would finally erase doubt in the automated system.
“But there are those who have another agenda… those who are pushing for another type of automation. You would never please them because they have other mindset,” said de Villa. (CBCPNews)
