A poll watchdog warned that untested election machines to be used by the lone winning bidder—Miru Systems—could put the May 2025 national and local elections in danger, given the company’s track record in other countries.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has awarded the nearly P18 billion poll automation contract to the South Korean firm.
The Democracy Watch warned that Miru’s proposed technology is a critical cause for concern, as everything indicates that their Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) have never been used in any elections before.
“Since the post-qualification evaluations began, Democracy Watch has repeatedly asked whether the exact same ACM has ever been deployed in an election, as required by law,” Democracy Watch Philippines Convenor Lloyd Zaragoza explained.
To recall, Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo recently admitted that the ACM presented during the post-qualification evaluation is a prototype that has never been used in an official election before.
“This machine is ours; it really belongs to the Comelec. We made the (terms of reference) and our wish list. Miru just followed. So, if you noticed, this is a customized machine which has not yet been produced,” Casquejo earlier said.
For Zaragoza, “this admission raises significant compliance questions with the provisions of the Automated Elections Law of 2007, which explicitly requires that ‘the system procured must have demonstrated capability and been successfully used in a prior electoral exercise here or abroad.’”
The Democracy Watch also said that unsettled and unresolved questions surrounding Miru’s performance in other countries where the firm had been tapped as an automated election service provider were not satisfactorily answered.
“Alarming reports from the company’s involvement in the 2023 elections in Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have painted a picture of voting delays, chaos, and a severe erosion of public trust. Observers had anticipated a statement from Miru, clarifying and justifying the supposed ‘success’ of their technology, but convincing explanations have yet to materialize,” Zaragoza said.
Democracy Watch is holding on to Comelec Chairman George Garcia’s earlier commitment that the bidding for the vote-counting contract will be open and transparent.
“Officials, experts and citizens alike are still on standby for an exhaustive explanation from Miru, alongside the Comelec’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC),” the group said.