Something old, something new

After PCOS, this wall should be updated to modern times.

Finally, automated elections, Pilipinas circa May 10, 2010.

As summer and discontentment sizzle up the nation, voters are greeted by the same old ways of overzealous politicos and their supporters, missing names and discrepancies in tattered voters' list, long and slow moving queues, uncomfortble precints and for those in isolated areas and election hotspots, the herculean task of casting their votes.

Then came 21st century technology. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had brought in the Precinct-Count Optical Scan (PCOS) to town to speed up validation and counting of our votes.. All 76,000 of them with lots of spare units in case of snafus. Its partner in poll automation, Venezuelan tech firm Smartmatic, promises to dash post-election blues by having the results known in three days. That's something unheard of in this side of democracy.

In a few days, a new set - or old as the case maybe - of leaders will be known. People may dispute. People may not. As if we're not used to endless mudslinging.

But the next question is: will they deliver the goods?


- redmark