Sri Lanka Digital Citizen Assn. calls for digital voting system

The Sri Lanka Digital Citizen Association says that the cost of conducting polls could be brought down by introducing a digital voting system as soon as possible.Sri Lanka Digital Citizen Association Convener Amanda Ranasinghe addressing a press conference last week said that digitizing the voting system should not be considered as a cost incurred, but as a future investment.

He added that a digital voting system has to be introduced without thinking of political advantages or disadvantages if democracy and the people’s supremacy are respected.

“It is said that the Local Government Elections would get postponed due to the inability to print and hand over the ballot papers for the postal vote on the required date. The printing bill amounts to millions. Why cannot we move to a digital system? Digital voting will save a considerable amount of money spent on transport, staff payments and security,” he said.

He pointed out that India introduced a mobile-based e-voting system in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming at senior citizens, people with physical disabilities and those working in remote areas. “It was a pilot project and it was 95 percent successful. At the same time, it has been using an electronic voting system to prevent crowding at polling stations since 1989. If India can do it, why cannot Sri Lanka, which has a population of only 22 million, do it,” he queried.