THE Electoral Office of Jamaica will in the next election roll out its state-of-the-art election management system, which will not only have the results for all 60 constituencies by 8:30 pm, but give a same day report on polling activities.

The system, a web interface, was developed by the Mona Informatix Institute, at the University of the West Indies.

Media companies, including the Observer, would be able to have access to the system, in the comfort of their newsrooms, but at a cost to be decided.

Senior Observer editors and reporters were this week given a sneak preview of the system, which will provide all of the EOJ’s information as it is received, starting from Nomination Day, and candidates and polling station information leading up to the actual election day information.

And even as the EOJ aims to have the final results ready by 8:30 pm on election day, it will allow participating media companies to be able to plan for other statistical information to be compiled before the announcement of the winner.

“The information will be available in real time in the sense that as the information is inputted into the system it will be available to the EOJ through their interface and also available to the media house,” explained Varun Baker, software developer.

He explained that the system would have several interfaces, for example where the data entry clerks would have a certain interface for the system as well as officials who are interested in viewing the results on a map and querying database for certain information.

Project manager Suzanne Stanley said that what the media would be privy to is the web interface, while the EOJ would have access to a desk top interface which is separate. “The EOJ would have access to a greater level of statistic and analytical capability,” said Stanley.

While the system is now designed to provide access for the general election, changes can be made to accommodate the local government elections as well.

Baker gave the assurance that the system should not experience any glitches on the election day. He said it would not be accessible to the public, only stakeholders such as the media, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) and political parties and as such the system should not experience any overload.

browni@jamaicaobserver.com