The Election Commission is determined to complete the distribution process of the smart national identity (NID) cards across the country by December this year.

 The machine readable cards are now being distributed in 37 districts and the distribution process will start in the remaining 27 districts in February, reports the UNB.

 ‘We think we’ll be able to complete the distribution of smart cards well before December next,’ said Director General of the EC’s National Identity Registration Wing Brig Gen Mohammad Saidul Islam.

‘Now we’re distributing the cards in 37 districts and we will start the distribution in the remaining 27 districts on February 1,’ he told UNB.

The Commission on October 1, 2016 started the distribution of smart NID cards to replace the existing laminated ones, but it could complete hardly three percent cards’ distribution within the extended deadline of July 2017.

To expedite the distribution process, the EC is now procuring 2,000 Image Recognition Intelligence Software (IRIS) scanners and 2,000 fingerprint machines. The shipment of the scanners and machines was made on December 29 last, which will reach to the country soon, he said.

The Commission now has some 500 IRIS scanners and some 500 fingerprint machines.

Earlier in November last, EC acting secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said the Commission planned to complete the distribution of the machine readable cards among all voters before the next national election.

The Commission in 2011 worked out a plan to provide the smart cards under the Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (IDEA) project, which is jointly sponsored by the World Bank and the government of Bangladesh.

The EC in January 2015 signed a contact with French digital security company, Oberthur Technologies for the production and distribution of 90 million smart NID cards by June 2016.

But the deadline was subsequently extend till June 2017 as the French company failed to send smart NID cards to upazila election offices across the country within the first deadline.

Within the extended deadline of June 2017, the French company sent some 70 million blank cards, while personalised only 13 million cards and supplied 10.98 million to upazila election offices.

Blaming Oberthur Technologies for the little progress it made in this regard, the EC did not extend the project period and realised Tk 140 crore as compensation from the company.

 Now the Commission’s own staffs are personalising the blank cards provided by Oberthur Technologies.

‘Now we can personalise on average 50 lakh cards in a month. But the French Company had been able to personalise only 13 million cards in 30 months,’ the Director General said.

As the number of the country’s voters increased at nearly 102 million now from 90 million in 2012, the Commission has designed a new project to provide the smart NID cards to the remaining voters and continue the distribution for expected new voters.