Dionne Rose, Staff ReporterTHE HOUSE of Representatives yesterday approved three bills that will see the introduction of identification of electors by finger printing.
The system will also be used in the West Kingston by-election to select a new member of Parliament to replace former member of Parliament, Edward Seaga, who earlier this year resigned.
The bills entitled 'An Act to Amend the Parish Councils Act', 'An Act to Amend the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act' and 'An Act to, Amend the Representation of the People Act', were piloted in the House by Dr. Peter Phillips.
"The introduction of identification by fingerprinting to the existing process of elector identification will assist in not only modernising the electoral system," Dr. Phillips said, "but will aid in minimising the possibility of electoral fraud by reducing and eliminating the possibilities of multiple voting and the probability of impersonation is reduced."
PILOT PROJECT SUCCESSFUL
The Electoral Advisory Committee (EAC) first tested the Electronic Voters' Identification and Ballot Issuing System in two Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation electoral divisions in the parish council elections held in June 2003. It reported that this pilot project was successful and recommend the system for full-scale implementation throughout Jamaica.
Dr. Phillips said that the bill will retain the current procedures for the manual identification of electors and will apply in cases where the electronic voter identification system fails to function properly.
In support of the bills, Dr. Kenneth Baugh, leader of the Opposition said, "We have all to welcome the advent of this event because it indicates clearly that we have the moral commitment to ethics. This is a step in the right direction and we have no hesitation to giving our support to the three bills now before the House."
Jamaica is to be credited as the first in the world to implement the application electronic voter identification using fingerprints to safeguard against fraud, Dr. Baugh said. He commended the government for the timeliness of the bills and disclosed that the system would be used in the West Kingston by-election.
Meanwhile, Opposition member of Parliament for Clarendon Central Mike Henry, while supporting the bills, also took the government to task about the delay in the national registration of all citizens.
