AMBITIOUS ARMY PROPOSAL FOR NATIONAL VOTER ID CARD

S E C R E T DHAKA 000342 SIPDIS SIPDIS NOFORN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2017 TAGS: KDEM PGOV MARR PREL BG SUBJECT: AMBITIOUS ARMY PROPOSAL FOR NATIONAL VOTER ID CARD REF: DAO DHAKA IIR 69 25053107 Classified By: Charge D'Affaires a.i.Geeta Pasi, reason para 1.4 (d) ¶1. (S/NF) Summary. An ambitious army proposal for a national voter ID card could, if accepted, further delay elections. End summary. ¶2. (S/NF) Post has obtained a Bangladesh army proposal for creating national and voter identification cards that was presented on February 17 to Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed, the Council of Advisors, Chief Election Commission Dr. ATM Shamsul Huda, and Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed. ¶3. (S/NF) The proposal calls for creating a national citizen identification database with each citizen having a personal identification number (PIN) and including additional information such as image and biometric data for a "multipurpose national use" like a national ID and voter list. The estimated cost is nearly three billion taka or USD 42 million to register 90 million voters. These costs include computers, printers, electricity, card stock and plastic laminant. ¶4. (S/NF) The immediate objective is creation of a database to enable a national election. To accomplish this, the proposal envisions a paper laminated national ID card containing a "bar code conversion of a thumb impression, photographs and individual signature or thumb impression." It envisions 8,000 local-level collection teams, composed of eight people, to register 60-80 voters a day, and completing the project seven to eight months after a four-month preparation phase. ¶5. (S/NF) The Bureau of Statistics would be responsible for maintaining the national database and ensuring connectivity to agencies like the Home Ministry, Local Government Ministry, Land Ministry, National Board of Revenue, unnamed intelligence agencies, and the Departments of Passports and Immigration. Local collection teams would be connected electronically to a central server. To guard against false voter registrations and to authenticate individuals at the polling center, there would be: --Assignment of a unique 11-digit unique PIN to each voter; --Inclusion of a photograph in the ID card and on the voter list for comparison at the time of polling; --Inclusion of thumb impression in voter registration form and computer database for comparison at the time of voting; --Computer automated comparison of thumb impression against voter data; and --Severe penalties for intentional duplicate data entry. ¶6. (S/NF) Comment: The proposal's technical challenges are great since it ambitiously assumes, among other things, the availability of computer literate personnel at the local level and of electronic connectivity even in remote areas. While this proposal may appear overly elaborate as a means to a credible and timely election, it may make more sense to its proponents if they see it as a long-term effort to produce a reliable national database to serve as the basis for a national ID card and even a Machine Readable Passport. PASI