Electronic voting on the horizon

NAMIBIA will soon be using an electronic voting system if Cabinet has its way.

A Cabinet decision taken on September 12 approved, in principle, the introduction of electronic voting in the Namibian electoral system. The decision was taken to help the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) minimise “difficulties” in conducting elections, including long queues at polling stations, long hours and days of vote counting – resulting in late announcement of election results.Similar systems are used in countries like the Netherlands, India, Brazil and the United States.The electronic voting machines (EVMs) have a lifespan of between 15 and 30 years and cost an estimated US$500 per unit, according to Cabinet.The ECN has been criticised for the amount of time voters spend inside polling stations, the time it takes to announce results because of the tedious manual counting and verification of ballot papers, and suspicions of tampering during the transportation of ballot boxes with uncounted ballot papers.Cabinet said the decision was taken after consultations, studies and observations undertaken in India.”The ECN found that the EVM system is simple and meets the requirements of the Namibian traditional election system.It is easy to operate, highly secure, tamper proof and uses batteries, which allows its operation in remote places,” the statement said.”The system is efficient and effective in producing election results, as it allocates and tabulates votes and gives results at the press of a button.Two elections can be simultaneously handled with the EVM system.”It said the ECN was determined to improve the electoral system to ensure efficient and effective service delivery and was now looking at the deployment of electronic voting in Namibia.Electronic voting systems have been used since the 1960s, when punch-card computer systems were introduced.The decision was taken to help the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) minimise “difficulties” in conducting elections, including long queues at polling stations, long hours and days of vote counting – resulting in late announcement of election results.Similar systems are used in countries like the Netherlands, India, Brazil and the United States.The electronic voting machines (EVMs) have a lifespan of between 15 and 30 years and cost an estimated US$500 per unit, according to Cabinet.The ECN has been criticised for the amount of time voters spend inside polling stations, the time it takes to announce results because of the tedious manual counting and verification of ballot papers, and suspicions of tampering during the transportation of ballot boxes with uncounted ballot papers.Cabinet said the decision was taken after consultations, studies and observations undertaken in India.”The ECN found that the EVM system is simple and meets the requirements of the Namibian traditional election system.It is easy to operate, highly secure, tamper proof and uses batteries, which allows its operation in remote places,” the statement said.”The system is efficient and effective in producing election results, as it allocates and tabulates votes and gives results at the press of a button.Two elections can be simultaneously handled with the EVM system.”It said the ECN was determined to improve the electoral system to ensure efficient and effective service delivery and was now looking at the deployment of electronic voting in Namibia.Electronic voting systems have been used since the 1960s, when punch-card computer systems were introduced.