EC: Digitalization will completely shut door to fake forms

Digitalization of the political party membership process so that people can only apply for membership via eFaas will completely shut the door to fake membership forms, says the Elections Commission (EC).

In a interview to Public Service Media (PSM) on Wednesday night, elections commissioner Hassan Zakariyya expressed confidence that switching to the use of eFaas in the membership process will resolve the issue of people being registered to political parties unbeknownst to them.

The EC is set to implement the new policy regarding political party membership starting February 15.

The commission has announced it will stop accepting paper membership forms starting January 30.

The move comes amid mounting public outrage with the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) accused of submitting fake forms to inflate its membership.

But Zakariyya said the issue of fake membership forms is nothing new, but something the commission has been facing ever since political parties came into existence.

The EC has suspended the membership process as it investigates the recent issue of fake forms.

In 2019, the EC drafted a bill following extensive discussions with political parties seeking to improve the political party system. Zakariyya said the bill includes digital and modern solutions to the issue of fake forms.

Zakariyya said that it has been four years since the draft bill was sent to the Attorney General’s Office, and expressed concern over the delay in the passage of the crucial amendments.

“…One of the main focuses of the bill was to harness modern technology and migrate to a digital system to stop the issue of people getting registered to political parties without their knowledge. This draft facilitates this. But it is regrettable that these amendments have not been enacted,” he said.

According to the law, the EC is required to publicize membership of political parties on a biannual basis. EC has said it is working to release the figures next week.

The commission last released the figures in September last year.