He said this was one aspect of internal party preparations and what was important was that the party leadership, as well as the political bureau, had been briefed on how the system is developed, and who will be appointed as the independent uditor.
“Several dry runs have also been carried out on the system. My view is that you need to view this system as credible first.
“At this juncture, there are no plans to reveal who developed the system for e-voting,” he told reporters at the party headquarters here today.
When asked if the identity of the software developer will be revealed in the interest of transparency in the near future, Saifuddin said this was for the party’s election committee to decide.
As the secretary-general of the party initially responsible for the development of the system, Saifuddin said when it comes to implementation, the system will be handed over to the committee.
“My job is to ensure the membership registration under my watch. When I hand over the data to the leadership, it must be credible.
“Anything in relation to the voting process will be done by the party election committee.
“My team and I are only involved in the annual division meetings which start next week.
“I have to make sure the meetings fulfil all the conditions, so that a full report can be sent to the Registrar of Societies (RoS),” he added.
PKR will use electronic voting this year. About 800,000 PKR members are eligible to vote in the elections which will be held in stages, according to states, from Sept 14 to Oct 10, involving 218 divisions.
The online e-voting system is being tested to rectify any problems that might arise before it is used for the party elections.
Questions have arisen over the security and integrity of the software used for e-voting.
The deputy head of PKR Wanita, Haniza Talha, noted that countries such as Britain and Germany had stopped using the e-voting system because there was no possibility of recalculation in the event of any doubtful decision.
She also questioned whether there was sufficient internet access or stable WiFi reception in areas like Sabah and Sarawak, and whether votes cast by members could end up in a “black hole”.