Bahrainis Become Middle East's First e-Voters

Bahrain's national referendum in February runs smoothly, efficiently and swiftly through Symbol bar-coding technology

In a breakthrough for e-government in the Middle East region, the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) in Bahrain went high-tech with the first ever "e-Referendum" in Bahrain. The CSO provided two-dimensional from Symbol to help make the National Referendum fast, efficient and absolutely accurate. The National Referendum, which was held on 14th and 15th February, giving Bahrain's citizens the opportunity to cast their votes on several national issues.

"The CSO faced the challenge of organising the referendum poll of more than 200,000 people within a space of only around four weeks from election date," commented Sheikh Ahmed Bin Attiyatalla Al Khalifa, referendum executive director. "We had to develop a system in record time that would work perfectly, every time, to verify the nationality and age of the voter."

The CSO had worked with Data Capture Systems, Symbol's authorised partners in Bahrain, to introduce two-dimensional bar codes in the Bahraini 'Central Population Registration' card. This "CPR card" is one of the first civilian ID cards of its kind in the world to integrate computerised information directly onto a physical ID card in the form of a 2D barcode (based on the ).

Referendum votes were cast through specially prepared voting cards that were giving to the voters upon presentation of their CPR card. Because the CPR has the 2D bar code integrated into to, it could be scanned with the Symbol 2D scanners at the polling stations, instantly and conclusively verifying each voter's nationality and age.

"The CPR card was the key tool in facilitating the referendum procedures," said Sheikh Ahmed. "The 2D barcodes on the card contain securely encrypted data to guarantee consistency of the personal information and the eligibility of the voter in a matter of seconds."

Voters cast their votes on ballot cards made of a special paper that is extremely difficult to forge, with a unique number to ensure no irregularities. For those that were more tech-savvy, the CSO introduced computerised touch-screens at the voting centres to simplify and speed up the processing even more. After voting, the last page on each citizen's passport was stamped to record that the person had voted.

"DCS was proud to be involved in this historic event. The Symbol scanning technology that the CSO implemented cut the time to process each voter from minutes to less than 20 seconds, allowing more people to vote in less time, with less staff resources to man the stations. Bahrain's government is rapidly becoming a pace-setter for the whole region in terms of its successful adoption of e-government initiatives," commented Fuad Jalal, Managing Director of DCS.

"The Bahraini government has pulled together a number of technology elements to turn what was previously an extremely arduous and time-consuming undertaking into a remarkably quick and smooth project," commented Sunil Chadha, Regional Director Middle East and North Africa for Symbol Technologies. "The CSO took its existing technology investments in Symbol's 2D barcode technology, rapidly implemented verification systems using our scanning devices, and tied it into its computer systems. The CSO has demonstrated how well chosen information technology is an investment that can pay for itself again and again by giving organisation effective ways to capture and manage data."

About DCS

Data Capture Systems, the leading Auto-ID company in Gulf Co-operation Council states, has over ten years of experience in deploying applications built around powerful Symbol batch and wireless products and solutions that improve the productivity, control, and accuracy of supply-chain management and logistics. Data Capture Systems' broad batch and wireless-based product line includes rugged Symbol linear and 2D laser scanners, batch terminals, wireless portable computers (WLAN & WWAN) and IEEE 802.11b backbone components and solutions for retail chain, super/hypermarkets, logistics and material handling, and manufacturing applications.