Biometric technology case studies of vertical markets

20 million records for Nigerian biometric voter registration project

Summary: Millions of biometric fingerprints captured for voter registration

M2SYS works closely with its clients, enabling them to capitalize on the benefits of using biometrics for security and accelerating their return on investment (ROI). These case studies of multi-modal biometrics security deployments for various verticals show how biometric security software solutions can protect the welfare of citizens, stop corruption and fraud, and create efficiency.

In 2007, M2SYS Technology provided the government of Nigeria with 10,000 fingerprint scanners and biometric software to help register over 20 million of 71 million voters for their biometric voter registration exercise. Millions of eligible Nigerian voters registered in the biometric voter registration project with M2SYS hardware and software solutions to create free and credible elections without fear of corruption, bribery or duplicate voters.

Challenge

Outdated voter registration systems in developing countries consistently cast a shadow of doubt over election results because of corruption, cheating, irregularities, and accusations of fraud at the polls. Duplicate registrations, proxy voting, and the absence of a credible mechanism to verify the true identity of voters promotes fraud and illegal practices which can jeopardize democratic principles and institutions. Nigeria was seeking a technology solution that would help them to maintain the ‘one citizen, one vote’ mandate and establish just and accurate voting registries.

Solution

The Nigerian government invested in the M2SYS biometric solution to register millions of eligible voters. Capturing millions of eligible voter biometric identities allowed election agencies to maintain full control of the voting process and acted as a preventative measure for potential illegal manipulation of the voting rolls by incumbent leaders or political parties. Spread out at hundreds of voting registration centers throughout the country, the M2SYS fingerprint hardware and software solution helped capture and verify millions of voter identities.

Benefit

The biometric voting project was a huge success, leading millions of eligible Nigerian voters to register their identities with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Effectively coordinating the massive deployment of M2SYS fingerprint readers and registration software at thousands of biometric voter registration stations, the government of Nigeria established political legitimacy through biometric voter registration. M2SYS and its partners on the project helped Nigeria to create a free and fair election absent of fraud and corruption positioning Nigeria as a model of democracy for the entire region.