PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – When Haitian voters go to cast their ballots in Sunday’s presidential and legislative council elections, they will be producing as proof of their identity perhaps the most modern form of identification cards in the Western Hemisphere, according to a senior official of the Organisation of American States (OAS).
Each identification card has a photograph of the registrant, a digital photo of their fingerprints, an electronic form of their signature and a number.
Head of Haiti’s OAS office Dr. Cristobal Dupouy, said he is satisfied that the cards are tamper proof.
“It is very difficult to fraud that document. It is the latest technology we’ve been using. It is a top notched technically wise document that has been given to the Haitian population,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
The OAs has been assisting the Office of National Identification (ONI) over the last five years prepare the cards for the elections and the new biometric I.D cards, according to the OAS official are the most modern and sophisticated type being used in the Western Hemisphere.
Assistant Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)with responsibility for Foreign and Community Relations, Ambassador Colin Granderson is also optimistic that the elections would be free of fraud.
Granderson who is heading the joint OAS/CARICOM Observer team, a number of new safeguards have been built into the system, which would make it difficult for any individual or party to rig the elections.
At least six new measures have been put in place to ensure greater transparency and accountability at the 11,181 polling stations on Sunday.
Among the changes is the type of voters’ lists that will be available at the polling stations. In previous years, the list contained only the names and numbers of the voter, but this time, it will also have the voters’ registration number and the picture of the person with that registration number.
While Granderson did not elaborate on the new ballot papers to be used, he said the features contained would also make it impossible for anyone to come up with a counterfeit.
Electoral officials say that 4.7 million Haitians have been registered to vote in Sunday’s election which the OAS says represents 95 per cent of the population.
Voters will also elect a 99-member lower house and 11 members to the 30-seat Senate and opinion polls put former first lady Mirlande Manigat as the front runner with a significant lead over the ruling party’s candidate, Jude Celestin.
There are 17other candidates seeking to replace President Rene Preval who is barred under the Constitution from contesting another five-year term.
CMC
