MPs dodge blame in electronic ID debacle
The General Election Committee (GEC) has been assigned responsibility of introducing this new electronic vote-counting system, however, its insufficient preparedness and the inexperience of handling the electronic machines has been under a heavy criticism from the general public, as well as some MPs. Dissatisfied voices on the GEC’s action have also increased in major media outlets.
Due to the low reliability of the proposed machines, the GEC’s first proposal on the electronic system did not pass during Parliament’s discussion in January. The State Great Khural screened the GEC’s latest proposal for buying electronic vote-counting machines from the US in the early February. The machines will be brought to Mongolia by late May, just a month before the election.
The Standing Committee on the State Structure held a meeting on April 26th to discuss the election arrangements. The meeting of the Standing Committee on the State Structure was attended by the Chairman of General Registration Agency (GRA) L.Amarsanaa, board members of the General Election Committee, Executive Director of Bodi Electronics Group N.Natsagdorj, stuff of the group who is in charge of electronic ID card project Dugersuren, Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs Ts.Nyamdorj, chairman of the Democratic Party (DP) N.Altankhuyag and other MPs.
The general election committee of Mongolia (GEC) has been the highest organizing body of the elections in Mongolia since 1992. Whether an election goes without incidents or not, depends on how the GEC works.
D.Enkhbat: -The paper ballot system will take a picture of each paper ballot automatically. Also, the device saves the information as a file. That information can be given to any party. Thus we have to follow the principle, trust and supervise. The General Intelligence Agency (GTA) will examine the paper ballot counting devices.
N.Luvsanjav: - We have suggested scanners from South Korea, which count the paper ballots more accurately, but everyone refused immediately. Now the GEC can’t give a 100% guarantee that this machine is trustworthy. We could buy devices that recognize fingerprints.
N.Altankhuyag: Is it true that the device you choose can’t read the electronic ID cards? Who will bear the responsibility? We have left no time.
N.Luvsanjav: -We were not in charge of printing electronic ID cards. We are not the organization that makes the technical solutions. We bought the device according to the technical information and standard that was provided from the GRA.
Then Minister for Justice and Home Affairs introduced back story of the electronic IDs. The Government approved the design of new electronic ID cards in November 2011 and made an agreement with Bodi International Group to provide the electronic ID card resources.
The electronic card blanks should have arrived in Mongolia between January 18th and February 28th, but company that was making the blanks requested change in the design. The electronic ID card design was modified on February 1st. The last shipment of the blanks should have arrived in June 1st. We have reached today’s situation as the company who is providing with blanks failed to deliver the blanks in time.
N.Natsagdorj (Executive Director of Bodi International Company): -The printing machines for the electronic IDs are being brought from the Datacard Company in the US. From the moment we signed the agreement, they were asking what kind of card reading device we were buying.
Then in March 21st, two officials from Datacard arrived in Mongolia to see the card reading devices and met officials from the GRA and GEC. The officials from the USA said that the reading device was too simple and lacked security security.
The leaders of the project along with Dugersuren went to Finland and brought a standard card reader. We told the officials from the US that we were not changing the card reading device and then Datacard renovated the program adjusting it to the card reading device that we bought. The arrangement was delayed because we didn’t buy a standard card reader.
The electronic ID cards will start printing on May 7th.
N.Altankhuyag: N.Luvsanjav said that the reading machines had no problems; they were working normally, now N.Natsagdorj is saying another thing. Who is telling the truth? Who should we trust?
N.Luvsanjav: - We bought the card reading machines on the basis of the information that was obtained from the General Registration Agency (GRA). We have asked the GRA about the technical specifications of the cards and told them that we were going to buy this kind of card reading machine. We even sent the GRA the number and design of the machine.
L.Amarsanaa (Head of the GRA): -According to the law, the GEC, the Finance Ministry, and the State Property Committee are in charge of buying automatic devices. MP N.Altankhuyag is saying that I draw my workers from the working groups in order to sway the elections and this is not true.
Ch.Sodnomtseren (Secretary of the GEC): -We saw the card reading device that N.Natsagdorj showed us. We asked GRA that it is right to buy the standard card reader but they answered that they won’t change the program.
N.Natsagdorj: -The sample device that we brought from Finland is capable of reading ID cards, and has a high potential. We can change the incorrect devices, but we can’t catch up to the election. It is not a standard product; it will be produced especially for our country.
B.Chinbat (Head of the Information Technology Department, GRA): -We gave the GEC technical information along the standard. The device that we are talking about is transportable and saves the information to the memory card. It means it has risk the information might be taken away. Moreover, the device will be used for the purpose of state affairs, thus, it is inappropriate that it is portable
Z.Enkhbold: - 30 billion MNT was spent of the election arrangements. I have a request to investigate the people who bought wrong devices.
D.Enkhbat: -I have the same opinion. We chose only one company and were obliged to carry out this work, we shouldn’t face this problem today.
At the end of the meeting, MPs couldn’t reach any decision. All the failings laid on the fault of technique and two foreign companies who are printing the ID cards and who are making the paper ballot reading devices.
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