CODE Inc. successor Electoral Services International Inc. (ESI), a firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, has been hired by the Solomon Islands government to take on the electronic Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise in preparation for the 2014 Parliamentary elections.Under direction of the Solomon Islands Ministry of Home Affairs, ESI will register voters, clean up present voters’ roll and produce a clean voters list for the Solomon Islands’ Electoral Commission in the capitol city of Honiara.
The follow-up to ESI’s successful implementation of BVR in the Republic of Fiji, and the fourth initiative of its kind to be undertaken by the Canadian company, the Solomon Islands BVR project is expected to shoulder the important goal of providing an exact number of registered voters in the region. Supported by its proven experience and history of assisting emerging democracies with the logistical challenges associated with elections, as well as the accuracy of its registration software, make ESI an easy choice for the Solomon Islands government.
Solomon Islands is made up slightly less than 1000 islands with a combined land area of 28,400 kilometers dispersed in the South Seas. Despite the challenges the geography of the country will present, Gordon Sinclair, ESI’s vice president of business development spoke to the challenge of such a multifaceted task and stated the company’s final goal clearly: “[the capture] of voters’ biometric data using highly mobile and rugged hardware under demanding conditions is a key element to ensuring a clean voters’ list. However, although collection of data in both urban and rural areas is essential it is not the sole solution to providing an impeccable list. We will celebrate success when we hand over a clean voters’ list to a satisfied partner.”
Upon completion, expected to occur in early 2014, the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission will find itself not only better equipped to overcome hurdles like centralizing data, establishing backup systems and providing voters with ID cards, but also use fingerprint and facial recognition to authenticate voter identification.
The registration exercise will begin in October, after the Mobile BVR kits arrive and ESI’s team has carried out training in August and September.
About ESI:
Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Electoral Services International Inc. (ESI) is a leading integrator of materials and services for clients worldwide, providing cost-effective solutions to support all stages of a project – from initial needs assessment to final delivery. Working closely with clients from around the world, ESI’s highly qualified team has earned a reputation for good value, attentive customer service and reliable delivery.
For more information visit: http://www.esi-sei.com/about-us.htm
Contact: Electoral Services International, Keely Brach, 1-613-296-7007, kbrach@esi-sei.com; Mohamed Bah, 1-613-260-3457, mbah@esi-sei.com
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