Election Systems: Manual or Machine Makes No Difference

    

    The Philippines has used elections systems in the many decades since the country practiced democratic suffrage. Two specific systems are the Full Automation where the number votes are tallied by an apparatus called the ‘PCOS machine’; and the other called Free Election where hired individuals or volunteers are assigned to tally the ballots manually.

    Which one is the better election system?

    The common Juan and Juana de la Cruz’s were interviewed and each one gave a definite answer as well as the reason for doing so. One person said that the computerized PCOS machines were free from intimidation, duress and other external influences which may entail a clean electoral procedure of tallying votes. Another elder individual claimed that the manual tallying of ballots was more practical since, it was not impossible for power outages to occur during election periods; especially if some persons with influences were to carry out the realization of that said incident.

    Taking politics into consideration; it does not even make a difference if a clean and honest election had taken place. First of all, there is the reality that there is no perfect politician ever put into office in the Philippines. Whether it is by revolutions and uprisings as with Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, or procedural elections such as that which designated Benigno Aquino III the current state president; every one of these individuals will eventually experience the discrimination and negative judgement of the people.

    They successfully got their stature of power because they had the charisma and the means of alluring the beliefs of the citizenry; the talent of “playing to the crowd’. All of these, in time, will undeniably and inevitably fade away.

   Secondly, the Filipino people more often than never voice out their complaints and tribulations giving electoral candidates the privilege of finding their “weak spot’. Majority of these individuals applaud quickly-spoken promises and romanticized speeches given by candidates during the campaigning period; run to their homes and start persuading their relations of their “certain beliefs”; create minor assemblies and come up with one collective agreement without even making sure that they have carefully scrutinized the person they decided to give their votes to.

    So then, if we try to decide which election system is better, the answer to that will be very elusive from a practical standpoint. This is because of the fact that no matter how peaceful and honest the vote-tallying procedures are carried out; the results depend on the very candidates and the people who decide which of them are to be entrusted any authority.

    In order for an individual to rule, only two things are required to place him in power: (1.) The wittiness to convince the people of his worth, and (2.) The credulity of gullible people to give him their favor.

    No honest and clean election systems matter.