Free, Fair & Transparent Election Without Technology???
“Elections matter, but how much they matter depends entirely on how free, open and fair they are” – Elliott Abrams
With the evolution in science and technology in today’s e-society, modern information and communication systems that have resulted only do not offer easiness for people to find information, but also provides opportunity for people to articulate their wills. The exponential growth of information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially the internet has been useful and yielded positive impact. Numerous studies have witnessed these positive impacts, for instant, in healthcare, e-government and public administrations, education etc.In developed countries ICT have been valuable to the e-societies with e-services. ICTs have brought about a completely innovative and healthier government (e-government) that is seen to be more open to the needs and aspirations of society, more democratic, and more proficient. One key aspect of e-government is the enhancement of e-democracy that engages citizens to support the democratic decision-making processes and strengthen representative democracy through the use of ICTs tool. In particular, the application of ICTs on electoral processes in most developed countries, mainly, electronic voting (e-voting) have been remarkable.In Pakistan, e-democracy and ICT applications in electoral process is at infancy phase where emphasis is gear towards providing public information and services, promoting citizen participation, building trust between government and citizens. Though, much has not been done to guard the integrity of elections i.e. voter registration and voting process but in the last general election perspective, some ICT tools were used in registration verification process via SMS, relevant tools were not effectively employed during voter registration and voting. Furthermore, with the current electoral system in country, it is difficult, if not impossible to track down election frauds, implying that one voter, one registration or one vote is not guaranteed. Consequently, election frauds such as multiple registration, multiple voting, figure falsification and impersonation are not exception, though remains unobserved. Nevertheless, it is believe that when electoral system of this kind exit, the trustworthiness and the integrity of the elections can be threatened or lead to failures and corruption of democracy.
Since, ICTs have turned out to be a significant part of modern society, the term “electronic voting” has become widespread. The term “e-voting” refers to the integration of information and communication technology at one or more stages of the electoral process. It is generally used to describe any type of voting that involves electronic means. However, there are some differences in the definition of electronic voting in terms of the inclusion of the electronic apparatus in the recording of the vote – front-end of the election, or in the counting process – back-end.But, it is fact that when appropriate ICT tools (e-voting) are taken in electoral processes, it can go a long way to rid fraudulent elections practices and uphold its integrity.Electronic voting systems are characterized by the fact that they integrate ICT into the system, which establish many advantages in electoral process in the following ways:
- One of the most potential benefits is the increase in speed of the ballot tabulation process. As the votes are stored digitally and the counting procedure is mechanical, the waiting time for the result is reduced considerably.
- The increase in accuracy of the results is another advantage, but it depends on the kind of system used and design and conditions of the hardware and software, as well as human behavior.
- One key issue that has to be highlighted is the cost associated with electronic voting. The first investment that the government has to make is the purchase of hardware and software, which involves high costs. But it brings economics of scale as the increase of the size of the electoral roll does not increase the cost linearly. It also brings savings in the future elections as the hardware and software are reusable and because the ballots no longer have to be printed, but can now be shown on a computer or terminal screen.
- Accessibility is another added value for electronic voting systems, as it allows alternative ways to access the ballots. It decreases rates of abstention, especially when the remote voting method allows widespread technologies to be used, such as cell phones (for SMS voting) or the internet. The fact that voters do not have to move physically to a vote centre to cast their vote provides geographic independence and better accessibility for people with disabilities, increasing electoral participation.
- Given that the ballots are design through computer systems, multiple languages options can be provided on the ballot. If the system is user-friendly it will also offer more information about each candidate to help the voters in their selection.
- Electronic voting system can help prevent common errors as under-voting (voting for less than the allowed number of candidates) or over-voting (voting for more than the allowed number of candidates).
Today’s e-society obtaining benefits from ICT in various aspects of life ranging from getting ordinary public services to supporting everyday work. The impact of ICTs on elections has been valuable dramatically. It can be used to enhance the democratic process – engage citizens or build trust with the government. Trust building with ICT can also be extended to election process to promote its transparency. Pakistan’s electoral system needs honesty and clearness in its election process and the transparency and trustworthiness of any electoral system is what characterized it to be free and fair which in turn, is one of the foundation stone of democracy. The fact is that, in any democratic society, free and fair election is linked to having a generally acceptable result that goes with organizing and conducting elections in an unbiased and fair manner, devoid of frauds or malpractices. This is because trust and confidence in democracy is only promoted when the electoral system process is transparent and open to all electoral stakeholders. As a nation, we must stand-up and prepare for our will to prevail through a trustworthy and credible electoral exercise along with transfer of power to the true representative not just to the national or provincial assemblies but, to the Union Council level. These are the concerns need observations in the Pakistan’s electoral process and e-voting is solution for free, fair & transparent election.
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