Regional election officers to get biometric verification authority

Regional election officers to get biometric verification authority

The Election Commission has decided to introduce biometric fingerprint verification facilities at the offices of regional election officers.

Muhammad Ashraf Hossain, System Manager of the EC's National Identity (NID) subdivision, confirmed the information on Wednesday, March 25.

He said previously regional offices did not have biometric verification or 'FIS matching' facilities. Discussions have now been held on introducing this service, and it will be implemented upon receiving directives from the EC.

According to EC sources, many service recipients need to visit regional offices to correct names or other information on their national identity cards. However, the lack of fingerprint verification facilities there often forced them to travel to upazila or central offices, causing inconvenience. The new decision is expected to reduce such difficulties.

Currently, the total number of voters in the country exceeds 12 crore, 77 lakh, 11 thousand, including male, female and third-gender voters.

Meanwhile, in the context of the ongoing fuel crisis, the EC has directed all officials at the secretariat and field levels to conserve electricity and fuel. EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed has instructed officials to keep air conditioner temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius and urged them to avoid unnecessary use of vehicles.