Following the successful application of a biometric-based digital ID platform, developed by uqudo and powered by TECH5’s biometric technologies, for voter identity verification in the 2022 elections in Oman, the country used the same technology for verification of over 750,000 voters during the 2023 Shura Council’s member elections.
The electronic voting system via the Antakhib mobile app with the innovative biometric and digital ID platform was used for the first time in the history of Shura Council’s member elections within and outside the Sultanate of Oman, providing remote voting capabilities to eligible voters outside the country on October 22nd, and within Oman on October 29th.
To be permitted to vote electronically, voters first scan their biometric identity cards using their smartphones, allowing the NFC chip on the ID to be read by the application. The system then verifies their identity using AI-based facial recognition and liveness detection technologies. The entire procedure takes less than a minute and is completed without any manual intervention, and voters’ choices are not linked to their identity.
“Oman’s digital elections are a historic moment for the country, and with uqudo and TECH5’s collaborative efforts, we are confident that the entire electoral process is fair and accurate, in line with Oman’s vision of enhanced digital acceleration.” – commented Mohamed Fagiri, Founder and CEO of uqudo.
The incorporation of the innovative platform powered by biometrics into the Antakhib mobile app led to several significant improvements in the preparation and voting processes, including time-saving – the entire electoral process was organised in less than a week, compared to the three to four months required in the past, and making the voting process fast and easy – voters could cast their ballots from anywhere, and they did not have to travel to a polling station. Additionally, this innovative approach led to a reduction in the overall cost of the voting process, allowing voters to choose their representatives without visiting an electoral booth, and reduction in the number of election workers.
“We were delighted to see that TECH5’s biometric technologies and the digital ID platform of our partner uqudo successfully used to develop the first-of-its-kind electronic voting system in the Middle East and Africa and used for elections in Oman. We will continue developing the offerings to ensure that every country has access to innovations powering fair and convenient elections for everyone.” – said Rahul Parthe, Co-founder, Chairman and CTO of TECH5.
The use of uqudo and TECH5 technologies as part of the electronic voting app ensured secure, private, and fair elections: the biometric-based digital identity platform has eliminated the chances of voter fraud, ensuring that each vote is cast by a legitimate voter by performing biometric identity verification of every person. The backup mechanisms of the app were designed in case of system failures or technical glitches, ensuring that no data is lost or replaced. Additionally, the app provided a real-time record of all votes cast, and it made it impossible for anyone to tamper with the results. There was also a reduction in the overall cost of the voting process, enabled by letting voters choose representatives without visiting the electoral booth, making the voting process seamless and convenient for the citizens.
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