MANILA, Philippines -- Residents of Lantawan, Basilan, are excited to try out the electronic voting system that has been set up for the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, officials said Saturday.

The Commission on Elections has set in place two types of technologies, one for Maguindanao province, and another for Basilan and four other provinces in the ARMM for the first computerized elections in history.

Basilan Governor Jum Akbar said she expected no serious problems on election day because the election body has fully explained to the voters how the computerized system works.

"In Basilan, I don't expect any hitches,'' she told reporters after a press forum. "I expect a higher turnout.''

Mayor Tahira Ismael of Lantawan, Basilan said the local government and the voters were all psyched up for their first chance at voting through electronic means.

"We're ready for the computerization. This is much easier for the voters. Whereas before, voters would do it manually, now, we'd just blacken the choices as if we're taking exams,'' she said at the Sulo Hotel press forum.

"Yes, they're excited about the automated elections,'' she added.

Maguindanao voters will pick their choice by touching the candidate's picture on a small monitor in what is known as touch-screen technology.

The voters in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Shariff Kabunsuan, and Lanao Del Sur, on the other hand, will write down the names of their picks on a special ballot and feed this into a system called optical mark reader.

"It's go, go, go,'' Comelec chair Jose Melo said Friday.

Despite the declaration that all is set for the elections, the officials remained wary that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front could spring a surprise and manage to put off the elections.

The House of Representatives has passed a measure postponing the elections at the MILF's request, but the move was doomed to fail because the Senate balked at passing its counterpart bill.

The separatist MILF is negotiating a peace agreement with the Philippine government.

"After an agreement is signed, let the MILF run for regional governor after the regional governor ends his term,'' said Ismael, head of the League of Municipalities in Basilan.

Both Akbar and Ismael insisted that the ARMM elections should push through as scheduled.

"We want it to push through so we can have peace,'' Akbar said.

Ismael agreed: "One group should not tie up the solution to the peace process with the postponement of the elections. What we're saying, push through with the peace process, push through with the elections. If there's an agreement, let the MILF run in 2011.''

Ismael warned that if the elections did not push through and the ARMM governor's term was extended in an "acting capacity,'' he would be vulnerable to moves to oust him.

"His term will be unstable. We will have more problems on our hands,'' Ismael said.

Ismael said they were not consulted on the proposal to put off the elections. But she clarified that they were not defying President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by opposing the postponement.