Thailand's EC considers software to ensure fair polls

[webfact]

EC considers software to ensure fair polls
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Election Commission is considering a software application developed by an international institute to help reduce the risk of violence as well as prevent fraud and vote-buying in future elections.

Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, an election commissioner, said yesterday that units of the EC were studying the Electoral Risk Management (ERM) Tool and would present the findings to the commissioners for a final decision in two weeks.

If the EC commissioners approve the software, he said a locally developed version of the program should be available within six months.

The ERM Tool was developed by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, also known as International IDEA. It is designed to enhance users' capacity to understand risk factors, analyse risk data and take action to prevent and mitigate poll-related violence.

The software also accumulates and stores large amounts of qualitative, quantitative and geo-spatial data that can grow from election to election, according to the International IDEA website. These data enable users to enhance their understanding of critical electoral issues, conduct cross-election analysis, direct electoral reform efforts, and plan and implement successive electoral processes.

Somchai said he expected the ERM Tool to help the EC manage election-related risks more efficiently, as it would cover 36 internal and external risks. Its ability to help with analyses of situations would allow election officials to identify areas of risk and respond accordingly.

He added that he believed the software would help ensure a successful, reliable and peaceful election.

"This is not an intervention [by foreigners]. We are just borrowing experience from overseas to help with our elections. There are no extra costs," he said.

He said the software had proved to be a success in Bosnia and Nepal, where elections were completed successfully.

Somchai and Pravich Rattanapian, another election commissioner, attended a presentation of the software, which was led by Leena Rikkila Tamang, International IDEA's senior programme officer for Asia-Pacific. The presentation was done at the EC headquarters yesterday.

Violence, protests and clashes between pro- and anti-government groups marred the last general election in February, and voters could not cast their ballots in many sites because of the large presence of protesters.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/EC-considers-software-to-ensure-fair-polls-30238253.html


-- The Nation 2014-07-11

[terryp]

"This is not an intervention [by foreigners]. We are just borrowing experience from overseas to help with our elections

YES those wicked foreigners, what have the ever given us.........apart from (make long list here)

[londonthai]

Election Commissioner, Somchai tells EU that "good" election means "good" people have to win. Software is just a smoke screen

Edited July 11, 2014 by londonthai

[AyG]

Website for the tool: http://www.idea.int/elections/ermtool/

[englishoak]

"This is not an intervention [by foreigners]. We are just borrowing experience from overseas to help with our elections. There are no extra costs," he said.

Yea yea and people dont buy amulets or Buddha statues they just rent them forever for a one off payment... bs what did they do rip it from pirate bay ?

How utterly pathetic to even feel something has to be said or clarified.

What he meant is they dont have the capability to write their own so used the farangs to bail them out, nothing wrong in that, just really funny they feel they have to deny it..must really grate on the old face thing..

Edited July 11, 2014 by englishoak

[h90]

Election Commissioner, Somchai tells EU that "good" election means "good" people have to win. Software is just a smoke screen

Well that is one of the main purpose of Democracy that the best/good people are leading the country.

[pookiki]

This has boondoggle, kickback, and corruption written all over it! Perhaps a realistic cost benefit analysis of how software will decrease violence and fraud should be undertaken. Maybe people can put an app on their smart phone!

Does this company also sell bomb detectors?

[AyG]

This has boondoggle, kickback, and corruption written all over it!

Uhh? It's free.

[londonthai]

Election Commissioner, Somchai tells EU that "good" election means "good" people have to win. Software is just a smoke screen

Well that is one of the main purpose of Democracy that the best/good people are leading the country.

no, he meant, that he will chose candidates and his palls will approve them, and not an electorate. There won't be a free election anytime soon, say 5-10 years, after the dinosaurs

[Eric Loh]

Seem like thinking a lot but less in doing like a simple task of holding an election.

[Rykbanlor]

This is not an intervention [by foreigners]. We are just borrowing experience from overseas to help with our elections

YES those wicked foreigners, what have the ever given us.........apart from (make long list here)

Edited July 11, 2014 by Rykbanlor

[pookiki]

This has boondoggle, kickback, and corruption written all over it!

Uhh? It's free.

If it is truly free, I stand corrected. If it is free, why would there be a need to develop the software locally? Who is going to develop it?

[rubl]

This has boondoggle, kickback, and corruption written all over it!

Uhh? It's free.

If it is truly free, I stand corrected. If it is free, why would there be a need to develop the software locally? Who is going to develop it?

It seems the tool is more of a framework which needs some tweaking to allow local pecularities and to insert data on local circumstances, historical data., etc., etc.

That's where you are going to need good people to avoid the usual 'garbage in, garbage out'

THe government can involve contacts through NECTEC ( http://nectec.or.th/en/ )

BTW that's just my technical opinion. Personally I wonder about the use and effect of the tool in Thailand, but I'm willing to be convinced.

[AyG]

This has boondoggle, kickback, and corruption written all over it!

Uhh? It's free.

If it is truly free, I stand corrected. If it is free, why would there be a need to develop the software locally? Who is going to develop it?

Pretty much as rubl said. It's not a matter of software development but of parameterisation and data input.

The implementation process is described in Chapter 4 of http://www.idea.int/elections/ermtool/upload/Overview-Electoral-Risk-Management-Tool.pdf

[Baerboxer]

Election Commissioner, Somchai tells EU that "good" election means "good" people have to win. Software is just a smoke screen

How it was translated affects what he really meant by "good",

If he means a good election should result in an honest parliament, regardless of political affiliations, who work diligently to improve all of Thailand for all its people, rather than lie, cheat, scam, enrich themselves or act illegally then he has a good point.

If he implies the only good result is one he wants, then he's another who must go.

Hard to tell without reading the Thai.

[rickirs]

I don't really see the point for using this s/w application other than to "window dress" the validity of the Thai elections. If freedom of speech, association with political parties, public demonstrations, public/candidate debates, and any kind of "negative" activity that does not contribute to public "happiness" are suppressed, you will have garbage data inputs. Analysis of that data is garbage output.

And like any s/w program, if data of only a bias nature is inputted, the output will be predictable. Furhtermore, if the nature of the election itself is a sham whereby there exists an absolute unelected, unimpeachable "authority" as a gatekeeper over the legislative actions of elected officials, fair polls will be irrelevant.