Zimbabwe to use fingerprint identification technology for its upcoming 2018 general elections

Zimbabwe will use fingerprint identification technology for its upcoming 2018 elections. According to a report published by iafrikan, Zimbabwe’s government has awarded and signed a contract with American company Ipsidy for the supply of the technology.

Ipsidy will supply de-duplication hardware and software which will include an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (“AFIS”).

The biometric authentication will revolve around fingerprint recognition, with citizens’ prints compared against a national biometric voter database established in the past year to enable de-duplication and assist in the adjudication of the rolls. The integrity of the voter roll will then be underpinned by the accuracy of Ipsidy’s de-duplication algorithms and the adjudication processes.

The company, according to the report was selected after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) advertised an international for the provision of de-duplication, adjudication, and voter roll publication services.  

Ipsidy CTO Thomas Szoke while commenting on the contract said it “represents the continued recognition of the efficacy and value of Ipsidy’s identification platform, software and services in the African election market.”

Ipsidy has previously deployed the  IDSearch/IMS Biometric Voter Registry technology in Zambia’s elections since 2005. For these elections, the company says it captured over 6 million voter fingerprint images and registration records and produced highly accurate AFIS templates. Fingerprint match processing and deduplication of over 500 billion records was completed.

Other African nations that have selected Ipsidy include Ghana, Swaziland and Guinea.