Infrastructural state capacity for democratization? Voter registration and identification in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana compared

Abstract

snfrstruturl stte pity for demortiztionc oter registrtion nd identifition in g¢ ote d9svoire nd qhn ompred his item ws sumitted to voughorough niversity9s snstitutionl epository y theGn uthorF Citation: sggyvsxyD qFD PHITF snfrstruturl stte pity for demoE rtiztionc oter registrtion nd identifition in g¢ ote d9svoire nd qhn ompredF hemortiztionD PQ@QAD ppF RWVESIWF Additional Information:• his is n eepted wnusript of n rtile pulished y ylor 8 prnis in hemortiztion on PQrd pe PHISD ville onlineX httpXGGdxFdoiForgGIHFIHVHGIQSIHQRUFPHIRFWVQWHT GermanyA large portion of electoral irregularities in developing countries stem from administrative deficiencies, rather than deliberate fraud. This is particularly evident when it comes to voter registration and identification: the quality of a voter list depends from the existence of effective mechanisms to register and identify citizens and electors, which might not be easily at hand in many developing countries. Democratization in these countries has been accompanied by intense polemics about the quality of the voter rolls and the identification of electors, which have threatened democratic consolidation. Biometrics technology has been recently heralded as a possible solution, but its effective potential is disputable. In order to understand how problems with registering and identifying voters have affected democratization, this paper reviews the contrasting experiences of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. In Côte d'Ivoire, the problem of the reliability of the voter register has been entangled since the '90s with the politicization of the citizenship question. As a consequence, compiling an acceptable voter register has proven extremely difficult and cumbersome. In Ghana, an effective electoral administration has been key to overcome the mistrust of the political parties about the fairness of the voter process.

Ghana’s 2012 General Election: Free, Fair, and Flawed?

“…To help combat such issues, Ghana now employs perhaps the most ambitious application of biometric technology on the African continent, using biometrics for both the voter registration process, and also to authenticate voter identity at the polls 1 on Election Day (Golden et al 2015;Piccolino 2016). During the 2012 election cycle, the Electoral Commission of Ghana introduced biometric voter registration in order to verify and de-duplicate data, and reduce multiple registrations.…”

“…Furthermore, despite its clear limitations, the biometric process received a positive assessment by the general public. According to a survey conducted by CODEO of registered Ghanaian voters, 78% of respondents agreed biometric registration represented an improvement over the old system, and 87% of respondents considered it a useful tool for promoting credible and peaceful elections (Piccolino 2016).…”

ICT and Elections in Nigeria: Rural Dynamics of Biometric Voting Technology Adoption

“…Technology can reinforce voters' trust in the electoral process, with perceived reductions in electoral fraud (Gelb and Diofasi 2016). Following Ghana's 2012 voter-registration process, over three-quarters of registered Ghanaians agreed that doing it biometrically represented an improvement over the old system; some 87 per cent believed it to be a useful tool for promoting credible and peaceful elections (Piccolino 2015;Gelb and Diofasi 2016).…”

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? Côte d'Ivoire's 2015 Presidential Polls

“…Ahead of the 2010 election, voter registration had been a contentious issue between Gbagbo's and Ouattara's supporters. The final list covered less than 73 per cent of the voting population, according to estimates by the National Institute for Statistics (Piccolino 2015a). For the 2015 election, the CEI used biometric voter registration for the second time.…”

“…For the 2015 election, the CEI used biometric voter registration for the second time. The same controversial firm that had provided the biometric technology in 2010 -Sagem Sécurité, since renamed Morpho -was again tasked with doing so (Piccolino 2015a). The CEI was hoping not only to update the list but also to significantly improve its coverage by enrolling approximately three million previously missing voters.…”