Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/835410
22 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 JUNE 2017 Opinion What we learnt from this election It's time for electronic counting of votes The Electoral Commission is proposing that the next time Malta goes to the polls in 2019 for the MEP and local council elections, a system will be in place for electronic counting of votes, and I say Amen to that. According to a report in the Times of Malta last year: "These (ballot) sheets would be scanned and dubious ballot papers filtered out. The scans would then be counted by computer software rather than by the current array of counters, ensuring results in a dramatically shorter time than now. At present, 12 hours are required for the official result of the first count and up to four days for the full result of all counts." All this counting by hand and manually checking every single vote is time-consuming and outdated. Not to mention waiting for over a week to find out who all the elected MPs are. Everything is electronic these days: we trust technology with our money to effect bank transfers and make major purchases, so why should we be so skittish about our votes? Plus look at all the money that would be saved from not having to employ all those people for the vote counting process. Of course, it will also mean the end of that unique Maltese election tradition known as 'banging on the perspex' every time a candidate is elected (or when a hapless counting agent makes a mistake). I know, I know, the very thought is unthinkable. I guess viewers can always recreate the atmosphere at home by buying a piece of plastic perspex which they can bang on in the privacy of their own living rooms. In fact, watching the results of the UK election being announced for each district so very politely and so quietly, was like watching paint dry in comparison. The candidates all lined up obediently in a row wearing those fancy ribbons to indicate their respective parties, and everyone clapped demurely. It was just so British, so fascinating, and so diametrically the opposite to ours. Having said that, they have their own democratic quirks: where else in the world would you have a candidate come dressed up as Elmo, a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate (Howling 'Laud' Hope), and an Independent called 'Lord Buckethead' (literally a man with a bucket on his head) standing side by side with the prim and proper candidates? I realise that the idea of electronic counting is probably going to be met with a huge outcry – we are after all, probably the most suspicious country in the world when it comes to trusting election results and I am still reading wild theories claiming how the whole thing was rigged. But it needs to be done. Let's do something about the expat factor If our perspex is unique then so is flying in voters who live or study abroad on cheap flights to cast their vote. I really cannot think of any other country where this happens. The frenzy of trying to book a flight and the great lengths some people go to, to make it in time to collect their vote, just to make sure their party gets in, has always intrigued me. Maybe my brain works differently but if I had packed up my bags and left this island with no intention of returning any time soon, I really doubt I would care who was in government – but I realise that that's just me. It is also worth pointing out that their Facebook bubble or the occasional weekend back on the 'Rock' to visit their folks cannot possibly provide Maltese ex-pats with a true picture of what physically living here day in, day out, actually means. But in any case, there are some people who are clearly still very passionate and emotionally invested, some would say disproportionately so, about who the Prime Minister of the island they left behind is. So, for these very dedicated voters, I think it is about time that Embassy voting (or some other method) is made available. It has been discussed long enough, let's make it happen. On the other side of the coin, I feel that those who really should have a say are the EU nationals who have lived and worked here for a while and are contributing to the economy. I cannot think of a single reason why they should be disenfranchised, after all, contrary to the Maltese who live abroad, this demographic actually lives here and experiences the good, the bad and the ugly on a first-hand basis every day, so political decisions affect them directly. After all, the Maltese who live in other EU countries are allowed to vote in their country of residence aren't they? Vetting of candidates is a must This is a plea to both parties. Next time round, take a good, long look at whom you accept on your ballot sheet before just Josanne Cassar