E-Voting: EC worried about security, confidentiality issues - Takiyuddin

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law), Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan has hinted that e-voting or ‘e-undi’ will not be implemented in the General Election (GE) if it is held in the near future.

He said the Election Commission (EC) was still not satisfied with the issue of confidentiality and security in the voting process.

Even so, he said that the EC will continue to engage with relevant domestic and foreign stakeholders before any decision is presented to the government regarding the electronic voting method.

He said the EC is still examining the feasibility of the method.

"Some foreign countries such as India and Brazil have used e-voting in their elections, but in the end their results were questioned, and the system was proven to be not as effective.”

"However, we guarantee that the electoral system and methods will be improved," he said at the 14th Session of the Dewan Rakyat here, on Thursday.

He said this in response to a question from Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid (Padang Terap-UMNO) about the level of readiness of the EC to face the possibility of an upcoming GE and the use of e-voting in elections as an alternative to conventional methods in the post-COVID-19 period.

Takiyuddin explained that the EC is always ready to face the possibility of GE-15 happening at any time.

He said the preparations included comprehensive planning covering aspects such as election budget, equipment and logistics, system development, human resource management and training for staff.

"In preparation for the GE-15, the EC will also create more polling stations in the constituencies that have a high number of voters."

Apart from that, the EC will also update voter registration from time to time.

He said, if the GE is conducted in the near future, the election process will be adjusted in accordance with the COVID-19 prevention guidelines in line with the directives under the Movement Control Order (MCO).