Comelec names 8 groups to review source code

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) has accredited eight groups that would review the local source code of the automated election system (AES) to be used in the May 2016 polls.

Comelec Commissioner Luie Guia said the poll agency had accredited eight groups, mostly political parties, to assess the integrity of the AES.

These political parties are Liberal Party, United Nationalist Alliance, Nationalist People’s Coalition, Unang Sigaw (Nueva Ecija local party), Bagong Bayan Party, and Lakas-CMD.

The Comelec also accredited the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and Center for People Empowerment in Governance to participate in the source code review.

The source code is the human readable instructions that dictate what the automated election system will do.

Under Section 12 of the Republic Act No.  9369, the commission shall “promptly make the source code available and open to any interested party or group, which may conduct their own review.”

Guia admitted that while already satisfied with the eight groups, they were hoping that more groups would participate.