Implementing eVoting in Malaysia to Address Low Voter Turnout
eVoting Implementation in Malaysia to address low voter turnout
In the recent Johor state elections of Malaysia, Barisan Nasional (BN) won in a landslide victory, securing 40 out of 56 seats, securing a super majority. With the first local elections in November last year, the coalition led by UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) won resoundingly again, with this victory the second in four months.
After these victories, BN is well-positioned for the July 2023 general election. One of the crucial factors behind this victory was low voter turnout.
Only 55% of the voters voted in the election, and BN won 43% of these votes. If more people had shown up, it might have altered the voting results in favour of the opposition.
The worrying trend of low-voter turnout:
The situation of low-voter turnout in elections has become a worldwide problem. All democratic countries depend on their citizens to vote and elect governments in the state or central assembly elections, but due to various reasons miss out on casting their votes.
People miss out on voting in general elections for various reasons, including old age, health issues, living outside their state or country, or issues related to work. The election procedure is different for each country.
But the voters need to come to a place on a specific date and time to cast their votes almost everywhere. That creates a lot of problems. Also, people don’t take elections seriously, resulting in intentionally missing out on releasing their respective votes.
The benefits of eVoting:
To resolve this issue, Malaysia needs to implement online voting in its elections. An electronic ballot creates a system of remote voting through the help of the internet.
According to the Estonian government, which has already practised this system of voting, this technology allows voters to cast their votes from any place they want, through any internet-connected device, a mobile phone, or a computer. The Estonians call it i-voting.
As a massive number of voters missed out on casting their votes in the Johor state elections recently, it would have helped them to cast their votes without any problems. It could have altered the election results.
Implementing Online Voting in Malaysia:
Malaysia must implement the NDID (National Digital ID) before successfully beginning the eVoting system in elections throughout the country.
It is basically a digital identification and authentication to verify the digital presence of a person. According to the reports, the NDID can only be implemented in the country by the middle of 2024, assuming any conflict doesn’t arise.
The bill related to the NDID implementation passed on May 08, 2019, but the first public consultation report on the framework was published a year later, in August 2020. It clearly showcases that this implementation isn’t a priority for the government till now.
Apart from being ignored, the people of Malaysia also don’t have a clear idea about the system. The government needs to step up and implement the ID as soon as possible, so it can help people understand the technology and why it’s essential to implement it.
It can not only address low voter turnout but also can help the government to organize the elections with ease.
