Cameroon, Gabon, Uganda tackle biometric voter registers’ integrity, engagement

Authorities in three sub-Saharan African nations are preparing for and carrying out biometric voter registration in anticipation of elections within the next year. Cameroon’s elections authority is planning to improve the consistency of quality of the biometrics captured for the voter register through staff training, while officials in Gabon’s transition government are urging citizens to sign up for the electoral roll, and Uganda’s government says identity verification by security forces is necessary to ensure the integrity of the national voter register.

Cameroon plans to train voter enrollment staff for better biometrics capture

There are reports that Cameroon’s elections management body (ELECAM) has a project in the pipeline to retrain its voter enrollment personnel to better capture the biometrics of registrants on the field.

This plan was discussed during a board meeting of ELECAM last month, local news portal Stopblablacam reports.

The outlet quotes unnamed internal sources at ELECAM as saying that the plan falls within the broader objective of the agency to improve voter registration figures, while also ensuring that biometrics such as fingerprints and facial images are correctly captured in order to reduce rejection rates.

Cameroon launched its 2025 annual biometric voter registration cycle on January 6, with ELECAM stating that they intend to have at least eight million names in the voter register before the exercise ends in the next few months.

The launch of the voter registration exercise came on the heels of accusations from opposition politician, Prof Maurice Kamto, that thousands of Cameroonians had their names expunged from the national voter register during a clean-up of the database in December as a result of rejected fingerprints.

About 12,000 registered voters were said to be affected by this problem, which Kamto felt was a scheme by the government to keep out potential opposition voters. ELECAM later said it would take measures to remedy the situation.

The opposition in Cameroon has always held that ELECAM doesn’t function as independently as it should.

It is believed that many of the ineligible fingerprints may have been a result of poor capture, also given the ageing nature of the biometric registration gear deployed. Some of the registration kits have been around and in use by ELECAM since 2012.

In 2024, Cameroon registered over 755,000 new potential voters.

Gabon encourages citizens to enroll as deadline nears

In a related biometric registration development from neighbouring Gabon, the country’s transitional leader has mobilized some government ministers to support the voter registration exercise in the country.

The move comes after a ministerial cabinet meeting chaired by transitional leader Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema convened the electorate of the presidential election for April 12.

VOA reports that as part of efforts to get many Gabonese register for the elections, top public servants, including cabinet ministers, have been dispatched to various localities of the country to whip up interest in the exercise.

Launched early this month, the biometric voter registration in Gabon is due to end on January 31.

The government says it expects around 300,000 new potential voters to enroll on the electoral register before the deadline elapses.

Security forces criticized for involvement in Uganda voter registration

In Uganda, there is an ongoing process to update the national biometric voter register, and security forces are reported to be significantly involved in the process.

While members of the public have called out the government over the heavy presence of security forces in the exercise, the government has justified the move, The Observer reports.

According to information, community security structures are playing a key role in the verification process of potential voters.

Critics say the move could breed political interference, but the Chairperson to the Electoral Commission, Stephen Byabakama, holds that it is a necessary step to prevent non-citizens from enrolling on the voter register.

Aliens holding Ugandan ID cards or passports is a very common phenomenon in the country.

The official explained that while the security agencies play an important role in the verification process, the electoral commission is the body with the final say on all related matters.

Uganda is preparing to launch a nationwide ID registration and renewal processes which target a combined 32 million people.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  Cameroon  |  digital identity  |  elections  |  Gabon  |  Uganda  |  voter registration