<B>> Having seen the electronic voting machines in action during your visit to India, what do you make of them?

They are very interesting. We?ve used them in Mauritius before, in 2002, for the Cargo Handling Corporation Trade Union elections and on a few other occasions too.

The main advantage is that they save a lot of money on printing. Another advantage is that they give results almost instantaneously. All the members of our delegation who went to India were quite impressed. 1.1 million machines were used over there during the last elections for 600 million voters.

<B> > What will have to be done if the machine is to be used here?

We?ll have to talk with all the political parties and agree on the price. It?s a one-off payment but it?ll save a lot of money in the long run. Another factor is that people will have to get used to the machines but they are very simple to use.

<B>> What are the shortcomings of the present system?

It takes a long time to tabulate votes. It?s also very costly in terms of ballot papers.

<B>> What would the new system change?

The system will only come into use if government agrees to it. We will submit a report with our findings taking into account the local context in Mauritius and the costs.

<B>> Is such an investment necessary?

At the moment everybody is talking about the cyber-island, about e-government and e-democracy. The electronic voting system fits in very nicely with these concepts.

<B>>Would the new system have to be accompanied by an educational campaign?

Yes, it would require a very intensive campaign. We have to go to the people and show them video clips and show them the machine. In fact, political parties in India have toy machines that they send to all their party agents throughout the country to let people see how they work.