IEC to implement digital identity for upcoming elections

AMMAN — Independent Elections Committee (IEC) Chairman Musa Maaytah on Monday announced that the digital identity card will be accepted in the next Parliamentary elections.

“The digital identity via the Sanad application will be accepted in the upcoming elections so that we can ease up the voting process,” Maaytah said.

The minister added that the aim is also to encourage citizens to actively take part in the upcoming elections, according to a statement by the IEC.

The Sanad application, launched by the government in February 2020 as part of the fifth executive package of the government’s economic program, aims to support electronic services and improve the business environment.

“We want to move forward with the digital transformation project and encourage citizens to make use of the electronic services,” Maaytah stressed.

The minister’s remarks were made during a meeting between the Civil Status and Passports Department (CSPD) and IEC officials and the technical team.

The minister added that the IEC worked with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurs and the CSPD to develop a special electronic mechanism that would “show the digital identification information via Sanad application to the election committee members who will be present at polling stations”.

Maaytah added that the IEC is currently working on “substituting paperwork by digitalising the entire election process for the next elections”.

“The digitalising process will hopefully work to ensure more transparency and integrity of the election process and will speed up the voting and result procedure,” according to Maaytah.

The minister also revealed during the meeting that the IEC held several training sessions related to the digital process for individuals who will be part of the committees that will be stationed at polling stations.

Meanwhile, the CSPD Director Ghaith Tayeb said that the use of digital identification in the upcoming election process is part of the National Digital Transformation Strategy.

An official at the IEC told The Jordan Times that both the smart identification card and the digital identification via the Sanad application will be accepted in the next Parliamentary elections.