Comelec picks US group to evaluate May auto polls

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has chosen a US-based group to evaluate the May 10 automated elections.

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the poll body has designated the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) to conduct the assessment in September.

“Definitely, the evaluation will push through. It will start next month and end in November (when) it will submit to the Comelec the report... They will have two full months to evaluate,” he said.

Sarmiento said the Comelec is now finalizing the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the evaluation.

He added the IFES evaluation would most likely cover the use of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, the clustering of precincts, and the overall conduct of the elections.

According to Sarmiento, IFES has been selected to conduct the evaluation because of its known non-partisan stance and advocacy.

“It (IFES) is known in many countries and has been lauded for its democratic initiatives. The group is not identified with any political party or partisan group so... it is in the best position to conduct the evaluation and audit,” he said.

Sarmiento further expressed confidence that local poll watchdogs would not oppose the Comelec’s decision to tap the services of IFES.

The Comelec, Sarmiento said, is also ready to cooperate with the IFES in the evaluation by allowing access to their personnel as well as to their records.

He said IFES would be conducting the evaluation for free.

Comelec has decided to conduct a post evaluation of the May 10 elections since it is the country’s first attempt for nationwide computerized elections. - Mayen Jaymalin