The impact of biometric voter’s registration on the Tanzania’s election process: a case study of Kinondoni district, Dar es Salaam region. Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania is a democratic country that elects its leaders after every five years. Since independence in 1961, the Electoral Commission has been traditionally registering qualified citizens to acquire voting cards necessary for participating in general elections. In 2015, the said commission adopted digital means of registering eligible citizens of the entire country including those that had voting cards obtained through traditional registration, to ensure that all eligible citizens are enrolled in the new system through Biometric Voter’s Registration (BVR). This study critically examined the impacts of (BVR) on the electoral process in Tanzania and the former ways of registration and voting means. Having examined such former ways, the study then examined the new technological adaption and its benefits to Tanzania. This study managed to investigate the advantages, challenges and factors for an efficient use of (BVR) that were encountered during the registration process and the technological advancement model on how or the manner that society would be involved in terms of adaption of this digitalized voting system. This study employed quantitative and qualitative research methods that made use of both primary and secondary data. Respondents from whom data were collected were selected in wards of the Kinondoni municipal, members of staff from the National Electoral Commission and National Bureau of Statistics. The findings suggest that the adaption of BVR was a good move to get away with the old ways of conducting elections. However, a number of measures are recommended to ensure that further elections are held better.