NIDs of Some 35,000 Citizens Locked on EC Server, New Software Being Built for Upazila-Level Fixes

Some 35,000 citizens of the country are suffering severely because of complications with their National Identity Cards (NID). Their NIDs remain locked on the Election Commission (EC) server for various technical and administrative reasons.

Because the cards are locked, they are facing problems in obtaining important services such as buying SIM cards, opening bank accounts, registering land and renewing passports. Officials of the EC’s NID wing gave this information last Thursday (November 12).

The Election Commission has taken an initiative to build new software to free citizens from this situation. Once it is launched, NID-related complications can be resolved from the upazila level, the commission said.

According to Election Commission sources, among the roughly 35,000 locked NIDs, the largest share belongs to people identified as dual voters. If someone registers as a voter more than once, by mistake or deliberately, the NID concerned is locked as part of identity verification.

NIDs are also being locked because of poor fingerprint quality, fingerprints matching another person’s, and inconsistencies in biometric information. Some identity cards have also been locked following court orders, ongoing cases of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and applications from law enforcement agencies.

Officials said that, after scrutiny of the information of people registered as voters more than once, one NID is being kept valid. Usually the first-issued identity card is kept active and the card taken later is cancelled. However, in each case a final decision is taken after reviewing the person’s information and registration history.

Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said work is under way to build new software to resolve NID-related complications. Once the software is ready, these problems can be solved from the upazila level, he said. At present, citizens who contact the Election Commission with this problem are having their NIDs verified and unlocked.

However, the commission has not given a specific time for when the software will be completed or when the service will start at the upazila level.

At present, victims have to contact the Election Building in Dhaka to reactivate a locked NID. Citizens from outside Dhaka have to spend extra time and money to come to the central office. In many cases, access to urgent citizen services is also held up.

The officials concerned could not give specific information on since when these NIDs have been locked. They said that, because of the huge number of identity cards, it is difficult to determine the locking time of each one separately.

Once the new software is launched, there will be an opportunity to expand NID-related services to the upazila level. The Election Commission hopes this will reduce citizens’ dependence on the central office and cut the time and suffering involved in resolving identity card complications.