Pakistan's first biometrically verified polling will be put to test in a pilot project next month as the technological revolution is likely to bring a change in the country's electoral system.Some 100 biometric verification devices have been delivered to Election Commission of Pakistan by Secure Tech Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. which will be used for the first time in Pakistan during by-election to Sindh Assembly from PS-114 on July 9, 2017.
According to Secure Tech, the service providing company, this system will verify identity of every voter as per the published electoral list. Along with devices 50 trained professionals will also be assisting the election commissions' staff on the polling day.
Spokesman of Secure tech said that if this experiment on 9th July succeeds, the biometric verified polling system will be introduced gradually across Pakistan."Pakistan is fast becoming a developed nation and this electronic voting is important part of the development, hence this system is being introduced," he said.
Sources said that this is a breakthrough in the electoral system of the country and is a big step towards transparency in elections. They said it would help bring transparency to electoral process because the person who votes will be verified first and then he can cast his vote, both manually and electronically. This system is to do away with the rigging charges usually political parties hurl during and after the polling/elections.It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan's population is close to 200 million and Pakistan is uniquely placed to verify each voter biometrically due to the National Database of NADRA. It is anticipated that once this system is installed successfully across the country it would really kill the issue of non-transparency in polling/elections.
PS-114 is considered one of the hardest and the most sensitive constituencies of the metropolis. In the 2013 general elections Irfan Ullah Marwat won the seat on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)'s ticket but his victory was declared void by an election tribunal in July 2014 on charges of rigging.It may be mentioned here that on May 11 this year the Supreme Court ordered re-polling for PS-114, dismissing Marwat's appeal challenging the tribunal's decision. The seat fell vacant after Marwat was unseated due to the apex court's verdict.