Poll watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) has urged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to make every step of the forthcoming election process public to ensure complete transparency as plans are being made to fully automate the 2025 midterm elections.
NAMFREL has also proposed several improvements to the procurement laws, citing the necessity for careful use of public funds, to entice more providers and contractors to participate in Comelec bids and "level the playing field" of the procurement process.
Only controversial technology provider Smarmatic Philippines has won all Comelec bids from 2010.
The "call to action" from NAMFREL comes before Congress's next budget discussions, during which members will choose how much money will be allotted to the government's electoral body.
This will answer how much Comelec can spend on the procurement of equipment for the planned 2025 Automated Election System (AES).
The organization demanded that the Comelec uphold "the standards of transparency, cost-effectiveness, accessibility and inclusivity, reliability, security, safety, and fairness" in future elections.
According to NAMFREL, the government's procurement board and Congress "must adopt before the end of 2023 the procurement law reforms necessary to further the standard of cost-effectiveness.&rdquo;

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Watchdog group urges Comelec to ensure transparent, ‘fully auditable’ 2025 midterm elections