2010 automated polls will push RP towards the 21st century

Automated election in May 2010 is vital because it would serve as the mechanism that will propel the country towards the 21st century and true democracy, Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind) today stood pat on his stance.

Gordon, father of election modernization in the Philippines and author of Republic Act (RA) 9369, said it is high time to modernize the country’s democracy because after more than a century since the nation declared independence from foreign rule; the country has yet to be truly democratic, especially in the system used to choose the leaders of the country.

“Automating our elections is a signal that we are taking steps towards really modernizing our democracy. After 111 years of independence from colonial rule, we have yet to free our nation from the shackles of electoral fraud and cheating. We have yet to see honest, clean, speedy, and credible elections,” he said.

"Automated elections will not only elevate the country's electoral exercise from third to first world class but will also erase public suspicion that the Filipino people's sacrosanct votes would be stolen from them," he added.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is now gearing for a full implementation of RA 9369, which was passed into law in 2007. It would be the country’s first ever nationwide automated elections.

The Comelec is set to conduct a voter’s education and information campaign across the country to prepare voters for the automated elections system that will be used in next year’s elections.

Gordon stressed that automating the elections would pull the country out of the political rut that it has sunken into and would bring closure instead of further causing division in the country.

"Having automated elections would allow us to resolve political disputes and bring credibility not only to our elections but also in the leaders of this democratic nation," he said.

“If the officials have the people's mandate, they can focus their attention on the business of governance instead of being distracted by electoral protests,” he added.