Change — the only constant
I am happy to welcome Rtn C Basker as my successor for 2017-19. He is the first RIDN elected by Electronic Voting in Zone 5A.
Change is the only constant thing in life. There were so many opposing this change. Change always creates fear as not many are ready to accept change.
Is it not true that India has more than 1 billion mobile phones? About 79 per cent Indians possess mobile phones and many Rotarians own more than one mobile phone. Haven’t we ‘changed’ from landline phones to handy mobile phones? Aren’t we comfortable with this change? Then why fear change?
Here are some facts about electronic voting recommended by President Ravindran and the Board of Directors.
• Centralised control.
• Historically stored — each district and each election.
• No manipulation in ballots can occur.
• Scheduling multiple elections online, even at the same time.
• A person can vote only once with the given secret link and password.
• Cost effective.
• Truly transparent and hack-proof system
• Cyber police can track the culprit in case of problems.
• Sequential real time data — votes can show hours, minutes and even seconds.
• Each voter IP address recorded.
This eliminates the need for balloting, validation and the election committee, thereby reducing complaints of various interpretation biases. Friends, it is a definite step forward by Rotary in the 21st century. This can save lot of time for many constructive activities such as TEACH and WinS. I do believe that you all are thrilled with the Electronic Voting results on burning issues at the Jaipur Rotary Institute. You voted for Direct Elections and the Board accepted your demands. The Board preferred use of Electronic Voting. Hope you now know the reasons too.
I appreciate the spirit of both the candidates for the post of Director. Can you believe PDG Sunil Zachariah, despite losing the election, accepted the verdict and highlighted the winner RIDN C Basker in his “e-Flash-Rotary” first thing in the morning! Friends, appreciate healthy trends and embrace this change wholeheartedly.
Manoj Desai
Director, Rotary International
