Are we indeed prepared for BVR use in elections?

By Editor

Editorial Cartoon.

Much has been said against the use of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system in the forthcoming general elections but with counter arguments from the government and the National Electoral Commission (NEC) itself.

 

Listening to the arguments from NEC and government officials, including Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda himself we are made to believe that Tanzania has invented a miracle strategy to enable the new electronic system operate and bring the desired results.

 

As arguments and counter arguments over preparedness for the use of BVR are continually made by officials and politicians, information from various sources clearly stipulates that operationalising BVR system during elections, for those countries that have tried   it, has always been a daunting task.

 

Countries such as DR Congo, Malawi and Kenya failed the BVR election tests with all their, perhaps, more technological sophistication than Tanzania, preferring to go back to manual system. 

 

Information Technology (IT) experts say  BVR is a technology that is expected to capture specific information such as fingerprints, facial features, name, gender and identification number and that its use should first be subjected to rigorous stress testing. It’s very unfortunate that Tanzania wants to put it into use straight for the Referendum on the Proposed Constitution scheduled for April 30 without prior ascertaining of its efficiency. 

 

Former Kenya’s Minister of Immigration, Otieno Kajwang was once quoted by the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) in 2012 as cautioning against the implementation of the BVR system in 2013 Kenya’s General Election due to its complexity, saying; “Forget about thumbprints, forget about photographs, those are complicated issues that need a lot of time, a lot of patience and a lot of testing.”

 

Another observation put forward by IT experts is that given the nature of the technology, operational staff need to undergo thorough  training on BVR technological challenges such as verifying mismatches of biometric data and dealing with system failures as a result of environmental problems, among others.

 

Information posted in various websites reveals that studies from countries such as Nigeria, DRC, Ghana and Cameroon that have used the BVR system show that the main challenge is the possibility of equipment malfunctioning, a snag that we currently face even at this registration stage.

 

Anil Jain from the Biometrics Research Group at US Michigan State University says “No matter how well designed the technology may be, there are logistical challenges that are beyond control of software developers. Fingerprint scanners can run out of batteries, networks can crash, and without enough training people can make mistakes”.

 

Again, Jonathan Bhalla, research manager for the African Research Institute in London, UK on his part says: “There is no magic bullet with any of this kind,”  “If you’re going to implement such a system, you really need this to be planned years in advance, to have full-time election staff who can be trained in using this technology properly and efficiently,”

Of course, it is indisputable that if used properly the system would help curb some of the fraudulent practices of manipulation and vote rigging that were prevalent in the previous manual registration systems. 

 

We have drawn views from various experts in an attempt to show that Tanzania might have unnecessarily hurried in making decision over BVR use. As a nation we need consensus over this sensitive matter that may decide the fate the country in October this year.

 

Opposition parties on one side have expressed concerns on the new system but the government and NEC officials on the other have stuck to their guns. In this matter wisdom must prevail. We don’t need BVR to spoil the elections and become the source of chaos.