Voter Registration Goes High-Tech with New Database (August 20, 2004)

In a former warehouse in Dili, more than 70 university students work intently at computers, entering data for Timor-Leste's first registered voter list. They are in one of two 4-hour shifts each day, entering some 6,000 voter registration forms into a new computer system. In two months, the list will be complete with about 450,000 registered voters, all double-checked and verified, ready for upcoming local elections.

The elections will be the first local polls in the new nation. New village heads and village councils will be elected in all 442 of Timor-Leste's sukus (villages), and more than 2,200 aldeias (subvillages) will also get new leaders. The Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) in the Ministry of State Administration conducted the two-month voter registration drive with special recruiters working in every suku.

With the registration campaign completed, STAE's work now focuses on establishing a computerized registered voter list. Each form is entered once and then rechecked by a different person. STAE staff members analyze and correct all duplicates, incomplete forms, and invalid information to ensure the accuracy of the list and to avoid registering those who are not eligible to vote, such as foreigners and underage citizens. This process is aimed at boosting the confidence of Timor-Leste's voters that the list is complete and correct and the process is transparent. By computerizing the database, STAE will be better able to update the list for future elections and evaluate the information it contains.

STAE's agreement with the National University of Timor Lorosa'e provides the students from different faculties with the opportunity of using the 74-workstation network and gaining experience in database entry. "It is good to have the students working on data entry because they are able to cross check the data and understand the importance of accuracy," explained Paulo Siqueria, the information technology advisor from the International Foundation for Election Systems.

USAID supports the establishment of STAE's registered voter list through a $98,500 grant for networking equipment and cabling. With other donors, including UNDP, USAID helps STAE establish Timor-Leste's new electoral process from the local to the national level. This expands individuals' and communities' political participation and strengthens the country's democratic institutions.

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