Electoral violence is one of the main characteristics of Election in developing countries. It is several months that the Afghan government and the political parties are on odds about the forthcoming parliamentary and district councils’ elections in Afghanistan.
Though the political parties have leveled serious accusations on government leaders over what they describe it deliberate attempts to deprive the people from the right to be informed about all aspects of free and credible elections. Ensuring that biometric system is used on the day of voting by government has been one of the main demands of the political parties.
However, Dr. Abdullah Abduallah, the CEO, has recently said that the NUG will ensure using the biometric system on the day of voting. If the NUG can afford the financial costs of the biometric system, it would be a major step towards more transparent elections in Afghanistan. In addition to this, it will address one of the main concerns of the people and political parties in terms of electoral transparency in the country.
How Using Biometric System increases transparency
As we have witnessed in the previous Afghan elections, an inaccurate voter register has caused many problems in the electoral process of Afghanistan by raising doubts about the election’s inclusiveness and outcome and by opening up avenues for fraud and manipulation. As a result, Afghanistan has been trying to create an accurate voter registration system through the introduction of biometric technologies. Such reform is aimed at increasing trust in the electoral process by enfranchising all eligible citizens and, at the same time, reducing various forms of electoral fraud, such as voter impersonation and multiple voting.
According to electoral experts the biometric voting projects have been a huge success in other developing countries facing the same electoral challenges and Fraud allegations. It has enabled leading millions of eligible voters to register their identities with electoral commissions. These countries have been able to establish political legitimacy through biometric voter registration. It has helped them to create a free and fair election absent of fraud and corruption positioning some of them as a model of democracy for other countries.
Using biometrics not only increases transparency and enables Afghanistan to have a free and fair elections but it also acts as bridging the gap between the government and political parties to reach an agreement on the current elections conflicts; it is currently impossible for the Afghan government to Change the country’s’ election system, because it requires to change the Constitution. However, using biometrics will be considered as a sign of good will that government does its best to ensure fair and free elections in the country considering the resources and time limitations of the forthcoming elections.