Malta’s electoral system is complex and depends on an elaborate vote counting process that usually takes days to declare the winners of an election. So, when both main political parties agreed to introduce an electronic vote-scanning system as from the next European Parliament and local council elections in May 2019, many had hoped the tense few days after the election would become a thing of the past. Election results should be known within six hours of the start of vote counting.
However, doubts have now been expressed on how well the Electoral Commission has overseen the project, whereby two international IT companies would provide the e-counting technology and security systems.
When the new system was stress-tested, a staggering 40 per cent of the ballot sheets were rejected and had to be scrutinised manually to determine the voting intentions of voters. A second test was conducted following some software changes made by the technology companies. The failure rate of the vote scanners fell but was still considered high, at about 20 per cent.
Nationalist Party secretary general Clyde Puli expressed concern on some issues relating to project. He said there were various inconsistencies in the process because similar votes were read differently by the scanners. Moreover, the software changes were made without informing the Electoral Commission and the political parties’ delegates. Mr Puli declared that his party’s confidence in the new vote counting system had been eroded and urged the Electoral Commission to work hard to win back its trust.
In a terse and condescending statement, the Labour Party accused the PN of sensationalising the stress tests conducted by the technology companies. It defined the PN’s concern as political spin meant to deflect attention from accusations being levelled at the PN leader.
Trust is a fragile commodity. It is more so when the subject of such trust is the robustness of an electoral system that underpins political democracy. While there are, so far, no indications that the mediocre stress test results were no more than usual glitches that affect most IT projects, the methodology used by the Electoral Commission to implement the new vote counting system raises questions.
Chief Electoral Commissioner Joe Church declared in November the implementation of the new vote counting system was “at a very advanced stage”. He spoke confidently on the robustness of the new system that would, presumably, improve vote counting substantially. Was it not presumptuous for the Electoral Commission to declare the success of the project weeks before the stress tests were undertaken?
The communication strategy of the project team was equally defective. Rather than inform the Electoral Commission and the parties’ delegates who presumably were in contact with the project’s steering committee, the contractors apparently made software changes that irked the PN representatives. Not surprisingly, Mr Puli argued that were it not for a media leak, the changes made to the system would never have come to light.
The Electoral Commission has made no official announcement on the matter.
The electronic vote counting system is essential, especially in the context of an island trying to sell itself as technologically savvy. However, the project’s steering committee needs to call in the Electoral Commission and the parties’ delegates to explain how it intends to restore trust in the system. The electorate should be kept in the loop too.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial