Dr Fonkam Azu’u Samuel, Electoral Board Chairman of Elections Cameroon.

Elections Cameroon has taken the option to do biometric recompilation of voters’ register. What is it all about?

Using biometric registration simply means that there are certain biological elements which are used. For instance, when you are registering, your finger prints can be used. It can be one finger or ten fingers as was used in Nigeria. It can also be your eyelids. It is using something from your body which the machine can detect. On the basis of these parametres you can verify the authenticity of voters. So the various methods of biometric registration could be using the thumb, eyelids, one or 10 fingers or some other thing that is used to identify that the person is the same person.

What does it take to do the biometric registration?

You need to have the service provider to furnish the machines. It involves very sophisticated technology. These things have been done elsewhere and we think they can be done in Cameroon.

The advantage of the biometric system of registration is that if everything is linked to a central server, it will be possible to detect who is who. It is the same like with the National Identity Cards. When you are applying for a new National Identity Card and lie when you already had one, it will be possible to detect using the finger prints. The biometric registration is a way of combatting fraud by ensuring that there is no double registration. This can only succeed if everything is linked to a central server. That explains why after registration using biometric system, there is a period of verification to ensure that nobody has succeeded to register more than once.

Has ELECAM got the necessary means to carry out biometric registration?

The reason for ELECAM having taken this decision rather belated, is because we wanted to get assurances from the government that there will be money to fund the exercise. The Head of State instructed the government to make available the means to ELECAM. We are sure the means will be made available.

When will the recompilation of electoral register start?

The Director General of Elections, when the time comes, will come out with a calendar. In order to have a viable calendar, we need to first of all select the service provider, who will state the time needed to acquire and deploy the material to the field as well as train staff before registration effectively starts. Once registration starts, it will go faster because we are using machines. For instance, if there is a machine in every polling station, registration may take a maximum of 10 days in the entire country. The fewer the machines, the more time we use and vice versa.