As a follow-up to the recommendations emanated from their validation workshop on the theme "Strengthening the electoral process" held last year at Tendaba , the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the country's electoral body responsible for conducting free and fair elections, last Monday began  series of presentations on the biometric system application.  

Held at Baobab Resort Hotel, the workshop brought together a good number of local international companies specialized in biometrics system application in any electoral process.  Companies such as Zetes Pass of France, Code of Canada, Oberthur of France, Indra of Spain, Smartmatic of Spain, DRS of UK and Prestine of The Gambia, gave successful presentations that highlighted the importance of using the biometrics system, as democratic election begins at the registration stage. It will also help in the issue of double registration and also in avoiding miss-spelling of names.

In giving his presentation, Eduardo Gonzalez of Indra in Spain said their mission in the electoral process is to guarantee reliability, quality, sustainability and efficiency in all activities, adding transparency and rapidity in the scrutiny.  He described it possible due to a proactive planning of continuous improvement and a suitable technological innovation. He also added that they have been existing for the past 30 years and conducted more than 280 electoral processes with 100% success in projects covering 18 countries.

He therefore emphasized the need to strengthen the electoral process and its sustainability, as they are a global enterprise with a corporate responsibility approach that is concerned about the impact that their solutions have over the societies and environment. As such, he noted, they are always committed to develop solutions and services not only to minimize their impact, but also to create a positive effect on social, environmental and economic  areas in which they operate.

For his part, Xavier Davard of Oberthur in France also centered his presentation on the services provided by his company in electoral process.  In  light of these presentations,  Madi Jatta, director of administration at the IEC, indicated that they are now on the verge of implementing the use of biometrics system in the country's electoral process.