Much had been written about the problems during our recent general election.

The problem seems to be the lack of political will to deal with it once and for all. We have the technology like the smart Mykard and we have the best of talents in international accountancy and management consultancy and so on. Is there any problem relating to the election process that cannot be dealt with by our own experts?

If there is any doubt of the accuracy of the electoral roll, then a firm decision based on what is generally acceptable will produce a clean and up-to-date list. If the list is based on the new identity card, then all those already using it will have only one registered voting address, even if incorrect and subject to subsequent change.

Surely, by the next general election, all citizens will be using the Mykard. Provided the data at the National Registration Department is correct, gone will be the phantoms.

By frequent and regular update of births and deaths, based on data from the National Registration Department, and an amendment to the law to accept automatic registration upon reaching 21 (age of eligibility), the electoral roll will be automatically updated.

Half the problems arose from the lack of transparency. If there is genuine desire to clean up the electoral roll, measures should be taken to specifically deal with it. Appoint an independent accounting firm to check the system on a regular basis. Rotate the firms if necessary. Have a department in charge of dealing with complaints and make sure it is efficient.

There have been continual complaints over the years about how the postal votes have been dealt with. Here again, there should be clear guidelines as to which constituencies they belong.

If the people are satisfied as to the total number of postal votes and which specific constituencies

they belong to before a general election, then the allegations about postal votes being transported to constituencies which have important incumbent leaders as candidates will be dispelled.

Present regulations do not allow political parties to witness the voting by armed forces personnel.

If there is no hanky panky, then open up this procedure to silence the critics.

There is a common complaint that there is no secrecy in how we vote because the serial number of a voter is noted on the counterfoil of the ballot paper. The Election Commission should state whether this is their policy and if so, should admit it and provide for its exclusion by making it illegal.

All the above are based on common sense and I wonder why politicians can't make sense of it. I hope those experts in the relevant field will offer more concrete suggestions and hopefully, our leaders will listen and make our general elections free of complaints.

There was no doubt about BN's victory, if only they were more confident in ensuring a more honourable one.