Embracing Biometric Voter Registration in Africa

One of the major reasons for poor voter turn-up in transitional and post conflict countries in Africa is the credibility and legitimacy of the voter's register. Many voters are disfranchised, and many of the voter's registers are erroneous and lack credibility. This has created a wave of mistrust and discontentment amongst the voters and many prefer not to participate in the election process. Yet, the most fundamental form of exercising good democracy is through participating in regular free and fair elections. However, before a free and fair election is carried out, relevant electoral bodies and authorities normally establish a comprehensive, credible and inclusive voters' list, also called a voters' register. This chapter discusses manual voter registration in Africa and its challenges. It further discusses biometric voter registration systems in different African countries; the opportunities it provides to pacify and redeem voters' registers. Finally, this chapter informs relevant governments in Africa on the most critical success factors for adopting biometric voter registration.