The 1422 short code provided by the Electoral Commission (EC) for registered voters to verify their details in the voter register, works fine.
The short code service, designed by a local mobile-based content provider, is to augment the physical verification of voter details and thereby prevent over-crowding at the centres, in this COVID-19 era.
Information reaching Techgh24 indicate the platform uses GSM technology to provide a link between the EC’s information database and voters’ mobile handsets regardless of location across the country.
The mobile subscriber, through this platform will send an SMS message with his/her pre-assigned Voter ID number to the mobile short code 1422 and receive the relevant information, which include name, Voter ID number, age, gender, polling station code, polling center, town, district and region in real-time directly on their handsets.
The platform is being hosted on a standalone server separate from the EC’s for security reasons, and it is linked to the different telcos’ networks through local designer’s infrastructure to subscribers.
The platform provides an economic and less cumbersome channel for subscribers to check their voter registration status without having to travel long distances to specific locations. The use of the short code 1422 cost 30Gp, which is much cheaper than transportation cost to polling stations.
For the EC, it provides a more cost-effective alternative for voter register status checks at all times and not only when centers are opened for this purpose.
Typical uses of the platform could include the following: –
• Registered voters—providing confirmation that they have indeed been registered as well as their polling center and ID number
• Voting Day—confirmation of their registration status, confirmation of polling station etc.
• Incorrect or Un-captured Entries—an early notification of potential error, enabling quicker correction
The envisaged net result is that voters will only need to visit the EC’s offices or centers for more urgent concerns when they have independently checked or verified their status, freeing EC staff for other functions.
