Zimbabwe Elections Support Network has called on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to expedite the procurement of the bio-metric voter registration software as the quality of the central database affects the storage of pertinent registration data and the data capturing speed at the same time checking for duplicate records.
In a statement released to the media on Wednesday, ZESN said the timely procurement of the software and back up equipment will give the electoral body an opportunity to conduct training of registration officers and data clerks on operating the system.
“While the BVR kits will capture each voter’s fingerprints, facial photograph and other personal information such as name, surname, sex, address, another integral component of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system is the AFIS.
“Thus the quality of the central database and AFIS software in use will affect the ability to store all pertinent registration data and the speed with which the registration details will be processed in order to check for duplicate records in the entire database,” noted ZESN.
The electoral watchdog added in light of the tight timelines provided by the ZEC regarding the commencement of the BVR exercise, it is imperative for the electoral body to timely procure the software for the central database and the AFIS through an open tender.
ZESN said there is need to procure relevant equipment such as back-up remote servers that will be stored in secure places.
“The timely procurement of the software and back up equipment will give the Commission an opportunity to conduct training of registration officers and data clerks on operating the system,” wrote ZESN adding that this will also allow ZEC to conduct pilot tests for compatibility with the enrollment software.
ZESN encouraged ZEC to be cautious of vendor locked systems, saying this will likely increase the cost of running and maintaining the BVR equipment.
“In order to enhance stakeholder confidence in the data management systems, ZEC should adopt the open data policy, where information to stakeholders is provided timeously, in granular form so as to make all stages of the voter registration process more transparent.
“Obscurity of information including procurement of the software and back-up equipment will erode trust, not only amongst stakeholders, but also eligible voters and this might impact on the turn-out,” said ZESN.
