PRESENTATIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS ON BIOMETRICS BASED SOLUTIONS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF VOTERS – JANUARY 2011.

In February 2009, the Independent Electoral Commission invited seven companies to make some presentations and demonstrations on biometrics voter registration.

Among the companies that did the presentations and demonstration to the IEC included a local based company called Pristine Consulting. After the various presentations and demonstrations by the companies, the IEC requested technical and financial project proposals from each of the companies that did the presentation and the demonstration; in which proposals they indicated how the registration would be conducted, the gadgets to employ, the cost involved and the timeline. After careful review of the various project proposals by the said companies, the IEC short listed two of the companies namely: Code Inc and Zetes Pass based on technical competence among other things. These two companies were further invited by the IEC to make further and more comprehensive presentations and demonstration as to how biometrics registration of voters may be conducted in our electoral process. This presentation was done at the Kairaba Beach Hotel on Tuesday 12^th January, 2010, at which stakeholders including the donor community were invited to witness.

Following the Presentation at the Kairaba Beach Hotel by both companies, a one day training was given to the staff of the IEC by the two companies so as to enable them have hands on, and in preparation for a mock exercise on the operation of the system, which was to be conducted in randomly selected schools.

The Independent Electoral Commission on Thursday, January 14th commenced the mock biometric voter registration exercise at the LatrikundaUpperBasicSchool and St. Augustine’s SeniorSecondary School by ZetesPass and Code Inc. respectively. On the 15^th January, MuslimSeniorSecondary School and CharlesJowMemorialUpperBasicSchool were the places where the trials were conducted by ZetesPass and Code Inc. respectively.

The purpose of the said exercise on biometric registration of voters in schools is to test the practicability of the biometric voter registration in the Gambia before the IEC could finally decide if it is worth going biometrics .The exercise was also meant to help the IEC with information regarding time on task required for the registration of voters using biometrics based solutions and its achievability in The Gambia.

Judgment on the said system will be the next engagement of the IEC and if it is possible to reach a conclusion as to the applicability of the said voter registration system in the electoral process of The Gambia. The final step will be the acquisition of the prerequisite funds for its implementation. It is against this backdrop that the effective and collaborative participation of the government of The Gambia and the donor community will be crucial.