By Arret Jatta
The chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Joseph Colley, has revealed that the commission is preparing to introduce a digital system for the next presidential election as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and curb the circulation of fake election results.
Colley made this disclosure Wednesday while speaking at a stakeholder engagement forum held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre.
The forum brought together various stakeholders to discuss electoral processes and reforms ahead of future elections.
According to the IEC chairman, the commission plans to introduce a Geographic Information System (GIS) that will map all polling stations across the country for the first time.
“After the registration, what we want to do is, for the first time in this country, we are going to do what is called GIS, Geographic Information System,” Colley said.
He explained that the system will involve digitalising all polling stations, making it easier for the public to access information about voter registration in specific areas.
“What we mean by that is we are going to do the marking of all the polling stations. Take Banjul for instance. If you are registered in Banjul School, you can sit in your house and click and know how many registered voters are there,” he explained.
Colley noted that the IEC is gradually transitioning towards digital solutions in different aspects of the electoral process, including the transmission of election results.
“So we’re moving digital. The results transmission, we are thinking about digital,” he added.
He further disclosed that the commission has already installed equipment in its offices to support the new initiative. According to him, large screens will be used to project results as they are being collated.
“Right now, we already have the offices equipped with 65-inch screens. When we are collating the results, we will project them so people can see exactly what is happening,” he said.
The IEC chairman also revealed that digital devices such as tablets will be used during the electoral process while maintaining manual systems as backups.
He said the reforms are part of the commission’s efforts to improve transparency and public confidence in the country’s electoral process.
