The Commission Électorale Nationale Indépendante (CENI)

Industry
Government

Location
Burkina Faso, Africa

Client
The Commission Électorale Nationale Indépendante (CENI) is responsible for organizing, running and managing the electoral data for national elections in Burkina Faso.

Challenges
With no rural terrestrial connections, Burkina Faso needed to collect electoral data from isolated regions and enhance the transparency of its national elections. The challenge was to use cost effective digital technology to transfer data and biometric voter validation on a short timeline and in a way that showed clear benefits for the whole population.

Scope
Two ballots were organised to select candidates for 127 National Assembly seats and 18,698 local government posts in the country’s 45 electoral districts. Afterward, the broadband infrastructure would need to be mobile, so it could be redeployed in schools, hospitals, public office or remote communities to provide opportunities in eLearning and eGovernance that would leave a lasting political and socioeconomic legacy.

Solution
Within six weeks, SES provided satellite broadband to the 45 electoral offices, and connected them to the CENI central office in Ougadougou. Each office was outfitted with a low-cost satellite terminal and dish, with a modem connected to a standard PC or local network to provide voice-over-IP (VOIP) and videoconferencing, as well as providing for quick, secure transmission of electoral data. This reduced fraudulent voting, enabled the quick delivery and dissemination of election results, and reduced the risk of political unrest or contested results.