As a continent, Africa has been an early adopter of using biometrics in elections to improve speed, transparency and security. Biometrics also supply crucial data on voter demographics and even possible predictions on voter turnout. However, if countries want to instil trust in the technology among voters, they need to pre-empt and address a number of potential challenges.
Gur Geva, founder and CEO of iidentifii, says, “Remote biometric authentication offers a radical turning point for elections in Africa. It can reduce duplication and improve the legitimacy of the election process. Both of these factors have a powerful impact on a sensitive process where a country’s future leadership is at stake. We are heartened to see African countries adopt biometrics at scale.”
Nations such as Zimbabwe and Liberia have adopted biometrics for their upcoming elections, and countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Namibia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are all actively implementing or planning to implement biometric authentication programmes across the country.
“Countries need to focus on three principles to see success in their biometric election processes: scale, support and education,” says Geva.
Scale matters
Biometric identification is effective and holds more benefits than challenges for countries that apply it to voting processes, but this depends on the system’s ability to scale. Take the case of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in Nigeria.
Although the equipment had already been used in several local and regional elections, the presidential elections offered the first opportunity to test the technology at scale. This led to unanticipated waiting times for voters and system delays. “Countries need to ensure that their biometric voting system is enterprise-grade, meaning it has the technological ability and experience in scaling up and performing under pressure.”
Support can impact success
Countries rolling out biometric programmes for the first time will encounter challenges if their solution is not anchored in a complementary infrastructure. In Liberia, for example, the biometric voter registration process was held up owing to delays in the equipment required for an effective rollout.
Geva adds: “It is important to be mindful that biometric technology does not exist in a vacuum. It requires a supporting infrastructure, skills and risk strategy for an effective rollout.” Essentially, the biometric authentication plan is only as good as the foundation provided by its infrastructure and people.
Education is needed from solution to citizens
In Zimbabwe’s recent biometric registration, some civil society groups were concerned that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) were not registering all who applied. In reality, this happened because some citizens were already registered, and other registrations took place offline, so no confirmation was given. In the wake of the elections in Nigeria, some citizens feared that systems like the BVAS were a new tool for electoral fraud.
Geva says: “Widespread public education is critical to the success of biometric authentication systems, especially in the context of the election. Even though the benefits far outweigh any perceived risks, using technology like selfie images, makes citizens far more comfortable with the technology platform.
“As a continent, we should be proud of our widespread uptake of biometrics in our elections and beyond. A scalable solution, with supporting infrastructure and education, will ultimately make the lives of citizens easier and allow them to participate in the political processes freely and safely.”