Biometric Boost: EC Moves to Ease NID Correction Hassles
Almost all citizens currently have to visit the office of the Regional Election Officer to make major corrections to their own names or those of their parents on the National Identity Card (NID). However, even when all documents are in order, the absence of fingerprint verification facilities at these offices forces service recipients to visit Upazila or central offices again for biometric verification to confirm their identity, increasing their suffering.
To address this inconvenience, the Election Commission (EC) has decided to extend the authority for fingerprint (biometric) verification to field-level Regional Election Offices.
On Wednesday, March 25, EC sources confirmed the introduction of this new facility, stating that biometric verification services will also be made available at Regional Election Offices to reduce public inconvenience. This initiative is expected to ease the burden on service seekers and ensure faster service delivery.
Regarding the matter, Muhammad Ashraf Hossain, System Manager of the EC’s NID Wing, said that previously biometric verification—referred to as “FIS matching”—was not available at Regional Election Offices. Discussions have been held on introducing the facility, and necessary steps will be taken upon receiving official directives.
According to the latest EC data, the total number of voters in the country stands at 12,77,11,895. Among them, there are 6,48,25,151 male voters, 6,28,85,524 female voters, and 1,120 transgender voters.
DBTech/DMI/EK/OR
