ABOUT THE PROJECT
Pioneering Automated Elections: SAHI Technology’s Role in Philippine Democracy
SAHI Technology Inc., in partnership with Smartmatic Communications, designed and implemented the system for the first automated elections in the Philippines.
The company developed the electronic voting, counting, and canvassing system for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a groundbreaking project in the country’s electoral history.
SAHI’s role covered systems integration, overall project management of the ARMM electronic voting system, and the creation of a secure electronic transmission platform for election results. To ensure smooth operations, SAHI also established and managed the ARMM National Support Center, which oversaw election day activities and the subsequent canvassing of votes.
The ARMM, composed of Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, is home to over a million voters. Despite its history of election-related security challenges, the region became the testing ground for automation.
On August 11, 2008, the ARMM elections proved successful. Results were transmitted securely and declared within a single day—an unprecedented achievement that marked a historic milestone in Philippine democracy and paved the way for the first nationwide automated elections in 2010.
