The United Opposition (UNO) on Monday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow independent reviews of the software that will be used in automation of the 2010 national polls so as to prevent cheating and internal rigging from tainting the results.

UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said the agency should make the election software source code available before the Smartmatic-TIM consortium produce the counting machines so as to allay public apprehension about the vulnerability of the results to fraud.

“The source code must be reviewed independently before the supplier begins producing the counting machines. Otherwise, it will just be a useless exercise since the machines have been programmed and there will be no way to probe the codes for vulnerabilities,” he said.

The mayor added that the review of the election software will help the agency establish the integrity of the automated polls.

“Without the independent review being conducted before Smartmatic-TIM begins producing the counting machines, it will only be the Comelec and the Smartmatic-TIM that will vouch for the integrity of the election results, and that is something that is really worrisome,” he added.

Earlier, the Center for People Empowerment and Governance (CenPEG) requested the Comelec to release the source codes of the election software for an independent review.

The request was approved in June but Comelec said the information will be ready by mid-November, barely five months before the election in May.

Quoting Section 14 of Republic Act 9369, the CenPEG said the integrity of the automated elections in 2010 cannot be established unless a source code review is conducted.

RA 9369 directs the Comelec to “make the source code of the technology available and open to any interested political party or groups which may conduct their own review.The United Opposition (UNO) on Monday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow independent reviews of the software that will be used in automation of the 2010 national polls so as to prevent cheating and internal rigging from tainting the results.

UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said the agency should make the election software source code available before the Smartmatic-TIM consortium produce the counting machines so as to allay public apprehension about the vulnerability of the results to fraud.

“The source code must be reviewed independently before the supplier begins producing the counting machines. Otherwise, it will just be a useless exercise since the machines have been programmed and there will be no way to probe the codes for vulnerabilities,” he said.

The mayor added that the review of the election software will help the agency establish the integrity of the automated polls.

“Without the independent review being conducted before Smartmatic-TIM begins producing the counting machines, it will only be the Comelec and the Smartmatic-TIM that will vouch for the integrity of the election results, and that is something that is really worrisome,” he added.

Earlier, the Center for People Empowerment and Governance (CenPEG) requested the Comelec to release the source codes of the election software for an independent review.

The request was approved in June but Comelec said the information will be ready by mid-November, barely five months before the election in May.

Quoting Section 14 of Republic Act 9369, the CenPEG said the integrity of the automated elections in 2010 cannot be established unless a source code review is conducted.

RA 9369 directs the Comelec to “make the source code of the technology available and open to any interested political party or groups which may conduct their own review.