If you vote in the 2012 general elections, you could be doing so via the internet.
This was revealed Wednesday afternoon during debate on a package of e-commerce bills, which are expected to create a degree of legal certainty necessary to inspire confidence in online commercial activity.
Financial Services and Investments Minister, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, considers a benefit of e-commerce to be enhanced citizen participation. And one of the most significant ways in which a citizen is able to participate in the deepening of democracy is through voting.
She does not anticipate the electorate voting by means of the internet during the 2007 elections, but she foreshadows it for the one beyond.
“In many jurisdictions, voting is electronically done…that is something we can anticipate, but citizen participation – it is shown – is greatly enhanced when it is easy to participate. So when it is possible to register to vote on line and to actually vote on line, to interact with government agencies on line, citizens are much more involved with the governance of their communities and their countries generally. Participatory democracy becomes meaningful in this context,” stated Minister Maynard-Gibson who seconded the package of e-commerce legislation presently before parliament.
The bills include, ‘The ‘Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 2003,’ ‘The Computer Misuse Act 2003’ and ‘The Data Protection Privacy of Personal Information Act 2003.’
Additionally, the minister views electronic commerce as an avenue to reduce bureaucracy and increase the transparency of governance. This she underscored, is something every citizen and certainly, every administration would like to see happen.
“There’s direct contact, direct interfacing with the service provider. There’s no need to go through any intermediaries. At the moment, if an individual makes a statement that a citizen believes is incorrect, there is a long process to go through to determine whether or not it is incorrect.
“With information readily available over the internet, it’s very easy to say, ‘but you’re saying this about this particular matter but if you go to the government’s website and you go to this page, you will find something different, so please tell me which is the accurate statement,'” she stated.
That kind of facility and ease of access to information noted Minister Maynard-Gibson, increases the process of governance and the responsibility of public servants to ensure that they are up-to-date with public policy. Therefore they will be more accountable to the people whom they serve, she emphasized.
“When one constantly has to be on one’s toes and aware of what is happening, that brings greater satisfaction and with greater satisfaction from our public servants, we will also find increased productivity – another factor which is essential in making the Bahamas competitive as a jurisdiction which people would want to do business,” said the minister.
But conducting e-business does not come without its challenges. The Financial Investments Minister admitted that these challenges include protection of intellectual property, along with the certification of digital signatures and deeds.
Minister Maynard-Gibson also revealed her hopes for the government to eventually provide access to parliament via the internet. As in the nation’s mother parliament – West Minster – unofficial transcripts of debates are provided over the internet, via the Hansard.
By Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
