NRM moots smart voter cards for party primaries
NRM electoral commission chairperson, Dr Tanga Odoi (left), chats with Mr Richard Todwong, the party secretary general during a press conference at the party headquarters on April 15, 2025. Photo | Abubaker Lubowa
What you need to know:
- Mr Richard Todwong, the party secretary general, said they would not allow any NRM candidate who loses in the primaries to run as an Independent candidate in the general election
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is considering using smart voter cards in the forthcoming party primaries. Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the party spokesperson, said this is aimed at ensuring the internal party elections are efficient, transparent, and credible.
“We are still in the formative stages although we have agreed on the principals and are now waiting for the technology developers to interact with the secretariat and agree on the nature of the app,” he said during an interview with the Monitor.
Currently, voting is conducted using paper ballots. Voters mark their choice by ticking the name and picture of their preferred candidate on the ballot, then place it in a box for counting later. But the NRM party said this method has bred internal disagreements and forced out dissenting voices who then choose to run as Independents against the official party candidates. The party said the smart voter card would eliminate multiple voting, a vice that has for long bedevilled the party.
But it was unclear whether this ambitious scheme would be delivered in the next three months when the party conducts its primaries, beginning in July. But Mr Dombo said: “The NRM top management has, pending approval by the top Central Executive Committee (CEC), started consultations with technical experts with a view to developing an instrument that will help us to eradicate the problems that we have been encountering during the election process.”
“We have not tried it before but we are getting offers from various IT experts that they can help us to develop that application. It is sufficient for the public to know that the party is going to invest in technology in order to end any mischievous actions during the election to improve the quality and credibility of elections and reduce the number of NRM-leaning Independents,” he added.
Sources privy to the plan say discussions on the smart technology have already reached the Office of the President and the Secretariat, who are currently holding meetings to ascertain its applicability. The smart card, the sources said, will bear biometric and other security features.
“This card will be linked directly to the NRM database and will prevent anyone who has already voted to repeat. The polling agent will just scan the card using their smartphone to ensure only one person has voted with the card,” a source said.
The party yesterday launched its 2025/2026 road map, which will be implemented ahead of next year’s general election. Mr Richard Todwong, the party secretary general, while speaking to reporters in March 2023, said they would not allow any NRM candidate who loses in the primaries to run as an Independent candidate in the general election.
Hopeful
The NRM top management has, pending approval by the top Central Executive Committee (CEC), started consultations with technical experts with a view to developing an instrument that will help us to eradicate the problems that we have been encountering during the election process – Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the party spokesperson.
