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116 ENHANCING ELECTIONS AS INSTRUMENTS OF DEMOCRACY IN THE ASEAN REGION

and contentious election protests despite recent improvements in voting
systems and processes – e.g. the full rollout of an automated election

system in the Philippines.

The IECs are challenged craft and enact new legislation towards

electoral reform (e.g. Political Party Reform Law, Anti-Political Dynasty
Law, Campaign Financing Law), and strategic programs of engagement
with citizen groups and the public (e.g. partnerships with traditional and

new media, academe, election watchdogs, and people’s organizations)
to facilitate greater awareness and values formation among the

electorate, promote greater transparency and accountability among
IECs and their partners, and ensure efficient, effective, and meaningful
participation in electoral exercises.

2. Urgent need to review and revise election laws and

processes to take into account current electoral and political system
developments. With the adoption of an automated election system and
the impending proposal to shift from a presidential to a federal form of

government in the Philippines, the COMELEC raised the urgent need to
review and propose appropriate revisions to the outdated election-related

provisions of the 1987 Constitution, and the Omnibus Election Code.
Likewise, after the 2016 referendum, Thailand’s Constitutional Drafting
Commission outlined the proposed revisions to the 2007 Constitution and

the organic election laws that need to be crafted and passed to facilitate
the transition back to a democratic form of government.