Dominicans could be voting with Multi-Purpose Identification cards (MPID’s) at the next general elections.
The Multi-Purpose Identification (MPID) System is a regional identification system that is being developed by the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) as part of the Electronic Government for Regional Integration Project (EGRIP).
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced at a recent town hall meeting that 1.6 million dollars has been approved for the electoral office.
The Electoral Commission has been mandated with the administration of the Multi-Purpose Identification (MPID) System. The Commission has determined that eligible persons of eighteen (18) years and older will be the first to be enrolled with younger persons to be included at a later date.
As of February 5th 2014, it was reported that 2,600 public officers were enrolled in the MPID system.
The main purpose of the National MPID Card will be to facilitate the voting process, however Chief Elections Officer, Steven Larocque says that owning a card may be mandatory.
The Multi-Purpose Identification Card will also serve other very important purposes including easing travel among OECS nationals and eliminate the need to present several forms of identification to private sector institutions such as banks.
