Published: 2 August, 2009, 20:45
Edited: 2 August, 2009, 20:45
Russian citizens will soon be able to vote with their mobile phones, according to the country’s Central Election Commission.
Vladimir Churov, Head of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, said this will become possible as early as March 2010 when parliamentary elections will take place in many federal regions, Interfax reports.
The news was announced by Churov at the “Seliger-2009” youth forum in Central Russia’s Tver Region. However, he also noted that the use of ordinary paper ballots would not be eliminated.
The authorities did not provide more details as to how the voting process is going to be organized. In particular, how the voting individual’s identity will be verified, for it is not uncommon that one person can have several SIM-cards in use.
Despite all these uncertainties, Commission member Gennady Taykov, who is in charge of the electronic voting, said “the technology has already been polished and all necessary equipment is ready.”
“It is only the legal side that remains to be worked through,” he added.
Raikov also noted that the bill on electronic polling is expected to be ratified by the Russian Parliament – the State Duma – by the end of 2009.
Earlier plans suggested the introduction of such voting systems in Russia not sooner than 2011.
So far, systems involving electronic transmission of ballots, primarily via the Internet, have been used in the United States, the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and Estonia.