With the budget process for the 2025 Automated Election System (AES) scheduled to begin in July 2023 and procurement by 2024, the undersigned stakeholders call on the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to adopt for the 2025 Automated Election System (AES) the standards of transparency, cost-effectiveness, accessibility and inclusivity,
reliability, security, safety, and fairness, and for Congress and the Government Procurement Policy Board to adopt before the end of 2023 the procurement law reforms necessary to further the standard of cost-effectiveness. These standards are all technology neutral: they apply whatever hardware, software, and mode of counting are adopted.

These standards are based on the mandate of the Constitution and election laws for free, orderly, honest, peaceful, credible and informed elections, plebiscites, referenda, recall and other similar electoral exercises through the use of AES in order that the process shall be transparent and credible and that the results shall be fast, accurate and reflective of the
genuine will of the people.

This call to action is the result of consultations with stakeholders conducted by the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) through the focus group discussion held at The Bayleaf Intramuros, Manila on 28 April 2023, the virtual FGD on 16 May 2023 regarding the Terms of Reference released by COMELEC, and the Stakeholders’ Forum on An Alternative Election System held at the Manila Hotel on 26 May 2023.

Read in full: "Call to Action on the 2025 Automated Election System"