NADRA Indigenously Enhances Capacity to Verify Voters Fingerprints

The National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) has indigenously enhanced its capacity to verify voters’ biometric fingerprints from 100 per day to 100,000 per day.

NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik in a press release issued here on Tuesday said NADRA is all set to carry out fingerprint authentication through its Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) in a bid to assist Election Tribunals. The tribunals are established by Election Commission of Pakistan which will hear and decide election petitions in post-general election 2013 scenario, he added.

Malik said, “Initially, NADRA had capacity of matching only 100 fingerprints per day. The capacity has now been indigenous upgraded to 100,000 fingerprints matching per day in the light of expected workload from Election Tribunals.

Such thousand-fold increase in daily output has been achieved through in-house software development by NADRA’s own engineers. NADRA has used its own internal resources without any financial assistance from Election Commission of Pakistan or Government of Pakistan. However, NADRA is not purchasing any software upgrade from any company due to this success.”

The Election Commission has already set up fourteen election tribunals countrywide. The tribunals under Representation of Peoples Act (RPA) 1976 are empowered to refer cases to NADRA for verifying the thumb impressions regarding votes cast in subject constituencies in case detailed inquiry is ordered.

The NADRA chairman maintained that through this service NADRA would be able to assist election tribunals in three ways. First, it would identify the number of votes which were cast by respective identity. Secondly, it would identify the number of votes which were cast by someone else instead of voter him/herself. Thirdly, it would help in identifying the individuals who cast bogus votes. Further he said the nature of sensitivity of evidence called for NADRA to evolve a chain of custody methodology to handle electoral rolls used in general elections 2013. “Meanwhile NADRA is preparing a code of conduct for public representatives and media persons along with its own employees working on the project. These guidelines will be issued after approval from Election Tribunals which aim at ensuring and maintaining political impartiality across the board. NADRA will start its work of fingerprint matching once directions from Election Tribunals are received and access to electoral rolls is granted,” he added.