Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan over the weekend made a very significant announcement —that the State was mulling over e-voting, a grand plan which basically aims at attracting more voters during polls.
The Head of State unveiled the plan shortly after receiving a report on the 2020 General Election submitted by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) Chairman Judge (Ret) Semistocles Kaijage at the State House in Dar es Salaam.
The move is timely and credible; and should be fast-tracked as it holds the possibility of increasing the ease of voting for citizens who are otherwise geographically isolated from election centers. President Samia’s announcement comes amid revelations that only 15.9 million, being 50.72 per cent of over 29.7 million registered voters voted during the previous General Election in the country. Alarmed by this low turnout, President Samia said it was high time the country considered embracing digital voting during elections, as it will give a platform for many Tanzanians to participate in the polls.
This envisaged system of voting will help many people to show up during elections as some registered voters have been missing an opportunity to exercise their democratic right due to a number of reasons including their day-to-day businesses, thus, voting digitally will help address the challenge by enabling everyone to vote irrespective of their localities.
It is also a guaranteed fact that elections are a very unique and important democratic process which changes the fate of nations, influences participation and involvement in politics and deeply affects the lives and attitudes of citizens.
It is on this backdrop that majority participation in the exercise gives the government of the day confidence and legitimacy, thus e-voting is very paramount in ensuring that many eligible and registered voters take part in the election.
This system will allow people in today’s mobile and digitally cutting-edge society to participate in the democratic process over the internet while offering the highest levels of transparency, control, security and efficiency of election processes.
Apart from providing voters with a comfortable and secure voting experience, e-voting will also enable the national electoral body to save resources in planning next elections.
Therefore, digital voting, if adopted and managed professionally in the country, will facilitate access to the ballot box for voters abroad or those with difficulties accessing polling stations and engage an electorate for whom digital platforms are increasingly becoming an integral part of civic engagement.
