The Independent Election Commission (IEC) says it is making every effort to use biometric system for voter identification on the day of parliamentary election. The commission has said that it has been in negotiations with a German company that has enough relevant experience to provide the biometric system for the upcoming election. According to IEC, they have completed 70 percent of the work towards getting the system. Meanwhile, the Presidential Palace has said that President Ashraf Ghani has also welcomed the development, describing it as a crucial step towards ensuring transparency in the election. The use of biometric system for voter identification on the Election Day was the main demand of the Grand National Coalition of Afghanistan (GNCA) which has threatened to close all provincial offices of IEC, and also boycott the election if its demands are not satisfied. GNCA, which is an alliance of several influential political parties formed to prevent fraud in the election, also accuses the government of intending to engineer the parliamentary election.
The use of biometric system for voter identification is key step to ensure a transparent election. It will invalidate the fake identity cards distributed to be used specifically on Election Day, since every eligible voter will be able to vote only once. Additionally, the biometric system will determine the actual number of voters, something that can help reduce the level of dissent among the failed candidates after the announcement of election results.
Now that the Independent Election Commission has accepted the main demand of political parties, it is better that the GNCA also eschews from creating more barriers for election. The political parties will be held responsible for any delay in election if they continue to insist on demands that are impossible to meet within the timespan left for election. All election stakeholders should join hands to make the election happen, as it is less than a month away from now, and the experience of previous elections has badly undermined public’s trust in the democratic process. Through a comprehensive awareness campaign, the people should be assured that their vote can bring about a change, and so they have to participate in the election. The people should feel that their votes are counted, and they have the opportunity to elect individuals for the parliament who will work for national interests and values instead of their own.
Use of biometric tech on Election Day key step towards transparency
