The Maldives Election Commission announced plans to introduce electronic voting for the first time at the 2013 presidential election. The commission said the members unanimously agreed on the matter and necessary amendment to the election laws will now be made.
Electronic voting technology can vary from punched cards, optical scan voting systems and specialised voting kiosks. It can also involve transmission of ballots and votes via telephones, private computer networks or the internet. On previous occasions, the Commission planned to introduce e-voting although it did not materialize.
The 2013 election is bound to be fiercely fought midst new parties and candidates being declared already.
Conducting elections in a country like the Maldives comprising nearly 200 isolated inhabited islands has always been a daunting task for the Election Commission and the new technology would allow greater accessibility for the voters.
Source: E-voting for Maldives’ 2013 presidential election | Asian Tribune.
