Since March 2020, many aspects of our normal life have become impracticable. In-person classes stopped. Many businesses had their operations put-on hold. Even government offices had their hours cut, resorting to alternative work arrangements. In that sense, much of our life went on pause.
Nevertheless, the democracy cannot be suspended.
Some politicians have suggested that COVID-19 has created a public fear and will hamper electoral participation. Therefore, they argue that we should postpone the upcoming 2022 elections, or perhaps change how we conduct it entirely. But, as shared in our virtual town hall discussion organized with the Stratbase ADR Institute entitled “Democracy Goes On: Elections & Electoral Continuity Post-COVID 19” by speakers from academe, government, and civil society, there is no binary between democracy and public health. If there’s anything to be insisted upon, it is because of this pandemic crisis that we need the election most.
There has been a rush of funds, largely unchecked by traditional accountability mechanisms, large scale militarization, and increasing discretionary power. It is crucial that the sentiments of the people are ventilated and that they are able to express their political will through the ballot. While it is by no means easy to organize an election that is safe and inclusive in this time of pandemic, it is possible through a whole of nation and whole of society approach.
The fruit of this exercise is a leadership that is built on a publicly trusted election, one that reflects the people’s will, and that will serve as a strong foundation for this new normal.
In order to have elections that are safe and inclusive, we must build on what we have. As shared by Dr. Ador Torneo of the De La Salle Institute of Governance in the recent Stratbase ADR Institute virtual town hall discussion, there has been a trend towards higher trust and less cheating in our elections, as well as strong confidence in automated elections. In fact, the study reveals that despite occasional glitches and issues, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that automated elections were marred by fraud.
We cannot afford to backslide and return to methods that rely on manual counting by any means. This will not only allow for more cheating and outside influence, but also will be markedly more expensive.
Looking into the future, Estonia’s online voting and robust e-governance framework provide us an ideal model to build towards: high quality, low cost, and universal access to internet, complete integration of government services online including tax payment and voting, and strong security protocols that prevent voter intimidation and vote buying. But they did not build that system overnight.
If we are to build future-proof governance systems that are resilient and proactive against corruption and outside interference, we must start now, and the first step is to ensure that public investment in an extensive and reliable digital infrastructure works alongside private efforts to make the rapidly digitizing Philippines accessible to all Filipinos.