On the 9th of January 2021, the Electoral Commission received 38,500 biometric voter verification machines at UGX82.8 billion to ease the voting process on election day next week at various polling stations across the country.
The verification machines that were received today are meant to deter voter fraud, double voting, as well as help voters, locate their polling stations said Electoral Commission Chairman, Simon Byabakama.
Also read: Uchaguzi voter platform launch easing access to voter information about 2021 elections.
According to NTV, the machines were received from Smartmatic International, the same company that supplied machines in 2016 for general elections. Of the 38,500 that have been received, 2000 were purchased and the remaining 36,500 were leased. These machines will be deployed across the country to 34,684 polling stations.
How biometric voter verification machines work.
The machines will help voters establish their voting status. To do this, the machine uses your voter number or National Identification Number (NIN) and compares it with biometrics. After this, voter information is produced to certify that you are indeed the voter. Biometric voter verification is done to certify that a voter is who they say they are.
How it works is simple. It compares biometrics that is unique physical qualities like fingerprints with pre-recorded data in the database. For example, if a voter fills in their voter number with their fingerprint, the verification system compares that to the information provided by one’s national ID number.
In conclusion, the system uses voters’ biological characteristics like thumbprints to match voters’ details and determine that the voter is eligible for voting at a particular polling station.
Uganda used the biometric system for the first time in the 2016 general elections. The machines used thumbprints, or the barcode at the back of a national ID, or the barcode on the voter’s location list. However, on election day of February 18th, 2016, some voters were left disgruntled when the machines malfunctioned and couldn’t verify them yet they had registered for voting.
Read also: Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform set to launch UVote app.
The uncertainty still looms in this election atmosphere as some people have expressed doubt in the functionality of these machines and don’t think they’ll work as promised by the Electoral Commission.
Several African countries have adopted the use of biometrics during elections like Ghana that held its elections recently, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
READ: Latest 2021 WhatsApp privacy policy forces users to find alternatives.