'Election inspectors should be tech-savvy'

MANILA, Philippines - Atlanta-based Carter Center has advised the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to build up the “technological capacity” of its personnel and the teachers comprising the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) to cope with the automated election system (AES).

In a 70-page report on the conduct of the Philippines’ first automated election last year, Carter Center has asked the Comelec to “take specific and measured steps to build institutional capacity around the implementation of AES.

“Training in electronic voting technology for Comelec commissioners is highly recommended. Increased public confidence in Comelec’s ability to administer automated elections in partnership with election technology vendors will result from such efforts,” the center said.

The center added that “more training for BEI officials should also be provided in order to adequately equip them to fully and effectively administer all aspects of the election, especially post-balloting procedures.”

Carter Center is an international non-government organization that observed the conduct of the 2010 polls. It was founded by former United States President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn.

The center has lauded the Comelec and Smartmatic International Corp. for their “hard work” that led to the “success” of last year’s polls.

Smartmatic was the Venezuelan company that supplied the 82,200 units of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines used by the Comelec in the election.

It noted that the election was “marked by relatively high public confidence and trust in the use of the optical mark recognition technology.”

The center said the “result’s transmission was generally successful, with Comelec and the technology vendor working in concert to provide necessary assistance to poll workers through written instructions, expert assistance, and a national call center.”

“Such a success is a credit to the hard work of Comelec and Smartmatic, as well as the commitment of the people of the Philippines toward increasingly transparent elections,” the report said.

The report was also highlighted by a recommendation “for further enhancing popular backing for computerized voting, including the overhaul of the 1985 Omnibus Election Code.”