Feature: Cote d'Ivoire introduces IT to boost electoral process
Feature: Cote d'Ivoire introduces IT to boost electoral process
16:19, November 14, 2009 
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After a lot of prevarication, there was a possibility as from Friday for voters of Cote d'Ivoire to consult the electoral list.
But before its display, the registered voters were supposed to inquire of their status by sms at telephone call centers and through the Internet.
The electoral process is remarkably being aided by the new information and communication technology (ICT).
This is a great advancement in the West African country because in the past, there was only a paper that had to be displayed in the registration centers and everybody was resigned to consulting the displayed list.
This innovation was greatly welcomed by voters who were interviewed by Xinhua.
"This system is truly practical and it helps to save time. We do not have to line up on a long queue as we did before," said Konate Souleymane, a student at the University of Cocody (Abidjan), who affirmed having seen his name on the list after checking on the Internet in a Cybercafe.
"This is an excellent initiative since there is a choice that suits everyone. As the Internet is not yet so popularized, those who do not have it at their homes, they can still be served through their mobile phones by sending an sms," a banker Zephirin Liagro told Xinhua.
However, the weakness of the system has also caused some discomfort.
"The website for the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) was inaccessible for several hours. Those in charge knew that there would be many people logging in and they should have taken measures to avoid clogging," complained Gustave Kouassi, a commercial agent for a telephone company, who did not succeed in logging in like the rest.
The CEI acknowledged this clogging from different networks. In a press statement published on Friday, the body in charge of organizing elections gave the reason for this inconvenience to voters as being "overbooking."
"Urgent arrangements are in the process of being taken in order to make the operation go on as early as in the coming week, so that people can consult the provisional electoral list about their registration in calmness as they await the physical display," they promised.
The presidential election, initially expected on Nov. 29, has been postponed for another time. CEI President Robert Beugre Mambe announced "a little change" without elaborating.
Cote d'Ivoire suffered a civil war after a botched coup attempt in 2002, splitting the leading cocoa and diamond exporter in West Africa into the government-controlled south and the New Forces held north.
Under a series of agreement brokered by Burkina Faso, the rival sides have agreed to hold the polls to end the protracted political crisis, only to postpone the election date amid differences, or delayed work on such issues as the voter identification and the verification of the electoral list.
ONUCI currently deploys an 8,000-strong mission in Cote d'Ivoire to maintain peace in the run-up to the elections.
Source: Xinhua
But before its display, the registered voters were supposed to inquire of their status by sms at telephone call centers and through the Internet.
The electoral process is remarkably being aided by the new information and communication technology (ICT).
This is a great advancement in the West African country because in the past, there was only a paper that had to be displayed in the registration centers and everybody was resigned to consulting the displayed list.
This innovation was greatly welcomed by voters who were interviewed by Xinhua.
"This system is truly practical and it helps to save time. We do not have to line up on a long queue as we did before," said Konate Souleymane, a student at the University of Cocody (Abidjan), who affirmed having seen his name on the list after checking on the Internet in a Cybercafe.
"This is an excellent initiative since there is a choice that suits everyone. As the Internet is not yet so popularized, those who do not have it at their homes, they can still be served through their mobile phones by sending an sms," a banker Zephirin Liagro told Xinhua.
However, the weakness of the system has also caused some discomfort.
"The website for the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) was inaccessible for several hours. Those in charge knew that there would be many people logging in and they should have taken measures to avoid clogging," complained Gustave Kouassi, a commercial agent for a telephone company, who did not succeed in logging in like the rest.
The CEI acknowledged this clogging from different networks. In a press statement published on Friday, the body in charge of organizing elections gave the reason for this inconvenience to voters as being "overbooking."
"Urgent arrangements are in the process of being taken in order to make the operation go on as early as in the coming week, so that people can consult the provisional electoral list about their registration in calmness as they await the physical display," they promised.
The presidential election, initially expected on Nov. 29, has been postponed for another time. CEI President Robert Beugre Mambe announced "a little change" without elaborating.
Cote d'Ivoire suffered a civil war after a botched coup attempt in 2002, splitting the leading cocoa and diamond exporter in West Africa into the government-controlled south and the New Forces held north.
Under a series of agreement brokered by Burkina Faso, the rival sides have agreed to hold the polls to end the protracted political crisis, only to postpone the election date amid differences, or delayed work on such issues as the voter identification and the verification of the electoral list.
ONUCI currently deploys an 8,000-strong mission in Cote d'Ivoire to maintain peace in the run-up to the elections.
Source: Xinhua
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