It is not lost on us that many voting machines in Africa have deliberately and spectacularly failed in the middle of elections. In Kenya’s 2013 elections, biometric kits and electronic tallying systems broke down, forcing a manual tallying of votes. Biometric systems are intended to ensure a clean voters register by eliminating “ghost” voters and chances for multiple voting, and ultimately delivering a credible election. It is especially acute when biometric systems are involved because they cost so much per voter, generating insatiable appetite for kickbacks. It is illuminating that more mature democracies are moving away from electronic voting systems mainly because of their vulnerability and opacity.

Source: Standard Digital January 26, 2017 05:08 UTC