Notwithstanding the rapid advances in technology, the Philippines has until recently been living in the Stone Age when it comes to the conduct of elections. Elections in the Philippines have always been undertaken manually, where the counting of votes could take months before the winners are proclaimed. This is especially the case for elections involving national positions, which are prone to cheating and other electoral frauds. Proponents of poll automation hope to lessen, if not solve, these perennial problems.

The Philippine Electoral Process

Philippine elections are held in May every three years for both national and local positions. The national positions are president, vice president, senators and party-list representatives. Local positions are governors, vice governors, board members, mayors, vice mayors, councilors and congressmen. Under the Philippine Constitution, the term of office for the president, vice president and senators is six years and is timed to end on the expiration of the term of office for local officials, which is three years. The party-list representatives, who represent marginalized sectors such as farmers and urban poor groups, are elected for a three-year term and sit as members of Congress.

The election is conducted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which is an independent constitutional body composed of a chairperson and six commissioners. Majority of its members are required by law to be lawyers.

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