Biometric device delivery for Afghan elections delayed

An expected shipment of biometric devices supplied by DERMALOG to Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) has been delayed, TOLOnews reports.

The IEC has already received 4,400 of 24,000 units, which are expected to arrive in the country by October 10 to support 21,000 polling stations in upcoming national elections. IEC spokesperson Sayed Hafizullah Hashemi warned that it may not be possible to deliver the devices to all polling stations by the election date.

“We have acknowledged them (the company) that our activities will be delayed as much as the arrival of the devices are delayed. Therefore, there is a concern. The Presidential Palace has ordered that a charter flight should transfer devices to Kabul. What we know is that all the materials have been packed and the transfer has started,” said Hashemi.

He also said that security forces are concerned about the delay, but the government has committed to use all possible means to make sure they arrive in time.

A local election monitoring group told TOLOnews that the IEC should assure voters they will be able to use the system.

“The commission should not make the use of biometric system condition-based. It should take a serious decision on holding elections, it should decide whether it will use biometric system or not and it should make a good decision to hold a relatively transparent election,” said Yusuf Rasheed, CEO of Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan.

The IEC launched a program to train 250 employees on the biometric systems earlier this week.

Article Topics

Afghanistan  |  biometrics  |  DERMALOG  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  mobile device  |  voter identification