• Zetes offers AFIS services for processing/inspection of digital fingerprints and facial recognition
  • Zetes produces the electoral list and delivers personalised voting cards to be delivered to citizens in the coming weeks  

Brussels (Belgium)/Freetown (Sierra Leone), 5 July 2012 – In mid-May 2012, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) awarded a contract to identification specialists Zetes in advance of the National Elections due to be held in late 2012. Under the terms of the agreed contract, Zetes will be responsible for the storage of personal data relating to Sierra Leone citizens who are entitled to vote; operation of biometric control systems associated with voting; and producing lists of citizens eligible to vote and their personalised voting cards.. The electoral process adopted by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in Sierra Leone benefits from support provided by the UNDP.

This project, which contributes to Zetes’ People ID division achieving its core business objectives, covers the centralised consolidation of individual data, back-up systems, and the verification of the biometric data through the AFIS control system (Automated Fingerprint Identification System). The end process is concluded with a separate system of facial recognition where fingerprint data is are unavailable.

Together with officers from the UNDP, the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office of Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), representatives from each of the eight political parties in Sierra Leone and a delegation from the NEC, visited Zetes’ headquarters in Brussels from 22nd to 25th May to attend an in-depth demonstration of the proposed process and technologies used. Meanwhile, the delegation has supervised the biometric control operations on the voters’ database and approved the deduplication of data.

Zetes Group CEO Alain Wirtz comments, "This project presented a challenge, particularly because of the very rigorous timing schedule and limited timeframe set out by UNDP. Thanks to the joint efforts and commitment of the teams on both sides however, we will be able to bring the project to a favourable conclusion. This contract win has provided an additional boost for Zetes as we continue our efforts and investment in developing solutions to address this demand. We believe our solutions are crucial because they provide Governments with a guarantee of single registration for each voter.

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