Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, was the guinea pig for iris-recognition technology at a presidential poll, according to election spokesman Saed Ali Muse. The self-declared sovereign state became the first in the world to use the scanners, which is the world’s most sophisticated voting register. Somaliland’s implementation of iris recognition devices follow incidents involving duplication of voters and other alleged fraud and logistic problems dating back to the 2008 elections.
The region, as a result, sought out international experts in the biometrics field and started preparing for the election since 2015. Biometric expert at the Notre Dame University, Professor Kevin Bowyer, was contacted to help determine the best of the various face, finger and iris recognition technologies. The latter was pegged as being superior.
The eyes of registered voters were scanned to verify their identity before they are cleared to vote. Also, social media was blocked during the voting process.
Full Article: Somaliland: 1st in World to Use Iris Scanner Technology to Stem Voter Fraud | News | teleSUR English.