THE Election Commission (EC) is engaging several parties, both in Malaysia and overseas, to determine the suitability of an electronic-voting (e-voting) system for Malaysia, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law) Takiyuddin Hassan. 

He said e-voting comes with challenges, such as confidentiality, security, cost and voter education. 

“The EC is not satisfied with confidentiality and security issues pertaining to this voting system.

“Hence, the EC will continue with engagements with the relevant parties before informing the government  of its decision on (implementing) the system,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to Mahdzir Khalid’s (Padang Terap-BN) question on the EC’s preparedness to face the next general election and the status of a proposal to implement e-voting as an alternative to conventional methods due to the Covid-19 situation.

Takiyuddin added that countries such as Estonia, Brazil, India and Switzerland have implemented the system. 

However, he said reports also indicated that some countries have had to fine-tune and review their e-voting system, with some even reverting back to the manual system.

“This is because there were issues with election results being questioned,” he said. 

“It is proven that it is not a very effective system.

“In Malaysia, the current system will be continued, albeit with some fine-tuning,” he said. 

Takiyuddin, who is also Kota Baru MP, said the EC has made preparations for GE15, taking into consideration the Covid-19 situation. 

The preparations include deliberations on budget, equipment, system, logistics and human resources, he said.

He added the commission will also increase the number of polling stations in districts with high voter population.

It will also update electoral rolls from time to time, and remove the names of deceased voters and those who are no longer citizens.

The EC has also engaged the relevant government agencies to ensure a smooth election process that is in line with the health SOPs for Covid-19 prevention. – July 16, 2020.