Automated Elections Accomplished?

Reports of various PCOS glitches during the elections show that Murphy was still able to do some damage, but by the end of the day, Comelec was still able to overcome the majority of problems. As international congratulations came in, perhaps we can already say it wrapped up this automation thriller with a success?

After all, pulling off an automated election would be a major accomplishment in any developed nation. Considering this is the Philippines with its less then stellar infrastructure, getting all 50 million people (or 75% thereof) to cast their vote electronically is surely something to be proud of.

There were some organizational problems with the wrap up of the elections, but the speed at which the results came in, and the speed at which candidates conceded defeat, was certainly unprecedented. Although some are now recanting their earlier concessions, it seems a thumbs up for the people of the Comelec and BEI is still well deserved, and hopefully lessons learned from this election will be incorporated into the next (who knows, maybe the tweets from the PCOS machine will serve as an archive).

Speaking of the future, the results from this election show that Nonoy is number one, even taking Estrada country. As next president he will have tough challenges ahead. The thorny issue of Arroyo's Chief Justice appointment is just starting to brew, and Moody's senior vice president Thomas Byrne already came out with a stark warning:

"Aquino ran on a platform of transformational leadership that was heavy on rhetoric, but light on substance. The incoming administration will thus need to remove ambiguity on its economic and fiscal policies in the months ahead to shore up further the government’s credit fundamentals,"

Let's hope the rhetoric can be turned into real substance.