Liberia’s move to introduce biometrics for 2023 polls receives acclaim

The African Youth Peer Review Committee (AYPRC), a pan-African youth organization, has hailed the decision by Liberia to introduce biometrics in the country’s electoral system, as a move in the right direction.

According to a report by New Republic Liberia, introducing the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system will help the country reduce irregularities which have often blighted the conduct of elections in the past.

The reaction by the AYPRC comes after the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia recently launched a feasibility study for the BVR, with the electoral umpire saying the motivation is to curtail incidents of consistent hitches affecting the electoral system.

The outlet cites a statement issued by the AYPRC saying the biometric registry will not only help fight issues of double registration or duplication, but will also drive up voter confidence and eventual massive participation in the 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections in the west African country.

The AYPRC has urged the NEC to not only complete the BVR, but to look at the possibility of integrating biometrics at every level of the electoral process, beginning with the polls in two years from now.

The group, per New Republic, has also called on electoral authorities of Liberia to promptly embark on a sensitization campaign to inform citizens about the advantages of the technology they want to introduce and how it will be used.

Early this month, some members of the Liberia National Elections Commission made a trip to sub-regional neighbours Ghana to understudy its biometric voting system. The goal was to see how to adapt the experience to the Liberian reality for the upcoming polls.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  elections  |  fraud prevention  |  identity verification  |  Liberia  |  voter registration