Dear Editor,
Stakeholders and observers of our electoral process might have noted the idea of the blockchain, said to be a foolproof basis for digital business, by which every transaction is posted to an open site, where any subsequent alteration to its details is equally evident. Anyone with a computer can devise a voting system based on this method.
This elementary principle of openness to scrutiny was assumed to underlie the manual voting process. GECOM, the statutory body responsible for the election’s integrity, was also assumed to be acting in accordance with the law, and all its management and workers were assumed to be acting with basic honesty and impartiality. Events over the last fortnight, up to, including and beyond a Supreme Court case, have proven those assumptions unjustified.
Lawful process has been foiled by rank dishonesty, aided by a lack of transparency all too familiar. As a passive citizen I am humiliated by what this says about my nation, and I accept my share of responsibility for allowing my political leaders to infect so many of our public servants with their toxic greed for filthy money. As of now I am not optimistic.
Yours faithfully,
Gordon Forte