Papua New Guinea not ready for biometric voting, electoral commissioner says

Papua New Guinea will hold general elections at some point in or before 2027 to elect members of the National Parliament. While we don’t yet know the exact date, the country’s electoral commissioner, Simon Sinai, has confirmed something about the upcoming voting.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is not ready to roll out biometric or electronic voting any time soon, according to Sinai, as reported by Post-Courier. In an editorial in the same paper, the publication vents frustration that in “this age and time,” when the technology and expertise to make biometric polling possible for PNG, it cannot be implemented, and especially as local elections are due to be held.

The Post-Courier notes that Simon Sinai was part of a delegation that visited India last year to observe the Indian election, which is the world’s largest democracy, and where electronic voting and biometrics have been employed, for example face biometrics has been utilized for voter authentication.

But Sinai has said population data is not in order in PNG. This could refer to the National Population Census, the National Identification Project and the Electoral Roll. “By law, the Electoral Roll is updated one year before a national election and the next update of the Electoral Roll should be in 2026,” the editorial says. “What is stopping the PNGEC from updating the Electoral Roll properly next year?” Referring to the country’s electoral commission, which is headed by Sinai.

Publications such as The Economist and The Guardian have reported on election fraud in PNG, and organizations such as the Development Policy Centre have analyzed the issue. The Post-Courier itself, a daily newspaper that has been running since 1969 and which is based in Port Moresby, the country’s capital, said electoral fraud is “widespread” in its editorial.

For the Post-Courier, biometric voting would be an outcome that paves the way for gathering population data and to clamp down on election fraud and violence. In November 2024, government minister Richard Masere said that prioritizing biometric voting and enhancing the National Identification (NID) system would combat election fraud. But it appears from the Post-Courier editorial, the initiative has not borne fruit.

Challenges remain over limited funding, network coverage, NID infrastructure limitations, and, perhaps, political will and competency. Masere had highlighted that an accurate electoral roll is essential to reducing fraud and boosting election security. PNG has a digital ID system, known as SevisPass, which launched in October 2024 and which is still developing.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  elections  |  Papua New Guinea  |  voter registration