“These automated elections, our third, set a landmark in the history of electoral automation. In only six years, the Philippines has become a worldwide reference for automation and successful elections”, stated Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica, speaking about the success of the May 9 voting process in the country.
Over 45 million Filipinos headed to the polls to elect their local and national authorities using 92,509 vote counting machines. These were the largest elections in the world using this technology (VCMs).
Smartmatic, a leader in election technology, worked for the third time in a row with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to guarantee exact, reliable and secure results through the use of technology. “We are proud to have helped the Philippines in this new electoral automation process”, affirmed Mugica.
In the months leading up to the election, a series of audits and certifications took place to analyze and test the source code, the software and the vote counting machines. Additionally, on the day of the election, voters were able to check that their choices had been registered correctly via a printed voting voucher.
“The audits, our technology, our cooperation with the Comelec and the commitment of over 270,000 Filipinos working on election day came together to make these Filipino elections a success. Transparency and efficiency paved the road to accepting the results”, Mugica stated.
With this new experience, and following the examples of 2010 and 2013, the Philippines is a clear example of how technology can help in strengthening democracies. These elections prove that the future of democracies and elections is digital.