Relying on data may make parties overlook some voters - Latheefa

Lawyer Latheefa Koya has cautioned parties against over-relying on big data in their election strategies which may result in some segments of voters such as underprivileged groups being neglected.

Citing the implementation of Undi18 which caught the attention of political parties from both sides of the divide, the former MACC chief commissioner noted recently released data by the Election Commission (EC).

She said that the data showed voters aged between 18 and 20 only amounted to 1.4 million out of 21.17 million total voters.

In comparison, a larger chunk of voters, or an additional 4.87 million individuals, who are not in the age bracket of 18 to 20, were made first-time voters under the automatic voter registration (AVR).

“But in the past two years, we heard about politicians keep speaking about the rights of the young people. Their speeches, conversations, and even tweets which are always cute, are meant to address the needs of the young people,” she said.

This is because, she said, these political parties and politicians felt that the young people will cause a large impact on the electoral outcome.

“There are 4.87 million new voters who never bothered to register as voters before this. Perhaps they are 30 years old and all the way to 70 years old, and probably they were not interested in politics in the past 10 years.

“If we were to analyse this data, the politicians may be in a dilemma. Do I focus on these people who never come out to vote or do I focus on the young people, who may be a bit active, but they are only about a million plus?

“When one starts depending on these political data, then the conversation, the policies, and the promises would begin to be designed in such a manner,” she said.

Latheefa, who is a former central executive committee member of PKR, was giving a keynote speech during a webinar titled “How Big Data and Algorithms Strengthen and Threaten Freedom, Justice and Development”.

Going to the ground

Apart from young voters and first-time voters, she asked if political parties or politicians care about the welfare and interest of the minority, women voters, or even stateless individuals living in their constituencies.

“Seriously speaking, as much as big data is important, when one totally depends on big data and algorithms, it may not be helpful towards getting the right person to speak for your rights,” she said.

She believed politicians have gradually replaced the method of going to the ground and understanding people’s problems with using big data and social media.

“Basically, the art of meeting voters and understanding their needs has been replaced by crunching numbers and making skewed conclusions as politicians surround themselves with so-called big data analysis, charts, and surveys,” she said.

Latheefa drew this conclusion based on her previous involvement in politics, in which she was with PKR.

“Especially with political parties, especially in the last four years, I noticed how much reliance on these big data experts and crunching numbers.

“I believe not just one political party, but almost every party is going through that, particularly in the post-pandemic era, there is a sense that we need to rely on big data more than actually going down to meet the people,” she said.

She also pointed out surveys conducted may not accurately reflect what the respondents thought when they were asked which party they would support in the general election.

“We have to look at the context, are the people likely to tell you the truth or they are just giving you something to humour you?” she added.

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