Comelec jumps on digital transformation bandwagon
DIGITAL transformation. What is it? Is it just hype, another buzzword that has created a bandwagon that everyone seems to want to get on board?
With the appointment of Dr. Nelson Celis to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the poll body is not to be left behind. Commissioner Celis leads the agency’s digital transformation journey.
Harnessing talents from the ICT (information and communications technology) industry, the poll body has drawn up a strategic road map for its digital transformation. Not perfect but a good first step.
The Comelec is now holding a marathon series of focused group discussions (FGD) on various topics as it prepares for the election summit that will be held in January 2023. The goal is to gather inputs for the election summit.
In one FGD session held last November 3 at DLSU, the organizers posed three questions:
1. How do you feel about the current registration, voting and counting process?
2. What do you think is the main issue of the electoral process that can be addressed by technology?
3. How do you envision the digital transformation journey of the Comelec?
The first two questions are about the digital transformation of election-related processes. But the three hours allocated were not enough for more than two dozen talking heads to respond to the first question.
A common thread that surfaced during the discussion was the long lines observed in the registration of voters and in voting on election day, despite the use of ICT in the registration and voting process.
On the matter of the counting of votes, the question raised was, “How much can we trust the counting process?”
Let’s focus first on the registration of voters. In the current registration process, a citizen who reaches voting age may file his/ her application for registration at the local Comelec office in the city or municipality where he/ she resides. Personal appearance is required since he/she has to sign the application form before the election officer and have his/ her biometrics captured. Simple enough, right? Oh, but there may be circumstances that could lead to problems in the registration process. The citizen may be a student or worker whose school or place of work is not in the same city or municipality. So, the citizen has to set aside a day or two in order to file his/her application.
The Comelec has made efforts to make registration a bit more convenient. Application forms are made available via its website. Fine. Here’s the rub, a true story. An applicant downloads the form and fills it up using his computer. He then goes to the local Comelec office to file it. He took a leave from work and spent time queu