Thailand could be planning to go fully blockchain when it comes to its future elections. It’s been reported that a local company by the name of Nestec is currently developing a blockchain platform to carry on the elections for the country. The news was confirmed by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center through Bangkopost.com.
In its preliminary stage, the platform will have a hybrid model which will allow for the current traditional voting system to work alongside the new technology, adding electronic vote in some regions of the country that currently have 5G connection available. Chalee Vorakulpipat, head of the cybersecurity laboratory at Nectec, commented on the innovative project saying that the voting system was planned to be used in the entire country and could even be adjusted to take on minor elections, such as locally or even for companies. The purpose of the platform aims to reduce risks associated to fraud and manipulation, and to store the information in the most secure way possible.
That’s why blockchain has been used to store valuable data and important documents, such as contracts and votes.
The platform will make it possible for parties to guard every aspect of an election, from the moment a voter is recognized by the system to the eligibility of candidates. Participants will be able to submit their vote via email, through a specific link provided by the authorities in charge of the process, which will make the voting process easier by casting votes through a single click. The process will be very similar to current online surveys we all see on a daily basis.
The results will also be available at a much faster rate, given that data will almost be immediately available and the candidate will be able to perform the verification process for the number of votes obtained. Thanks to blockchain technology, local storing for votes will be eliminated, saving unnecessary expenses and making the whole experiencing approachable to more people. With this platform, participants won’t even have to leave their homes in order to cast their vote.
Although the technology is still under development and needs to overcome basic issues such as the verification of identities to make sure each person only votes once, a lot of local companies and universities have expressed their willingness to help with the project, going through intensive testing before being available for the public use. As previously mentioned by major industry players, it appears that 2019 will be the year of amazing technological developments for blockchain.
