The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has implemented a pilot project in two electoral districts for the December 6 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections.

The EBC said the project will be carried out at 13 polling stations in the two districts on election day, and will see the use of data entry clerks electronically identifying the voters present and those who have voted.

However, the EBC made it clear that no electronic voting will take place. In a press release on Monday, it said the voting process and procedures being used in all polling stations in Tobago are the same as in previous elections.

The EBC said the pilot project will take place in two electoral districts - Scarborough/Mt Grace and Mt St George/Goodwood - as it tries to improve its election management processes and timely provision of information to its stakeholders. This pilot project will see an increased use of technology in its data collection and this will be done parallel to the traditional manual process.

But it stressed, "The process for voting in the Republic of TT remains as stipulated in the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 2:01."

The commission said it expects that the data collected in this project will give it the ability to generate its after-election reports expeditiously. It reiterated that the project "will in no way change the voting process and the sanctity and the safety that our electorate has known to exist in our country."

If the pilot is successful, the EBC said there could be greater use of information and communication technology at all polling stations across both Trinidad and Tobago in future elections.

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