Norway will test e-voting

Norway will test e-voting

The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development will carry out e-voting pilots during the local elections in September 2011 with a purpose to establish a secure electronic solution that facilitates democracy. A point presented as key element by Oslo: "the current high level of reliability in the holding of elections, based on the principle of the secret ballot, must be confirmed".

Ergo group won the tender launched by the Norwegian Government to implement the e-voting solution, for a NOK 30 million contract (3.8 million euros). The solution, based on the products of the Spanish company Scytl, will be developed open source, and the codes will be freely accessible for everyone. "It is an important aspect for ensuring transparency and access to the electoral process" says Head of Government Jens Stoltenberg (left wing party), whose objective is "to meet the expectations of the new generations of voters and to facilitate the access to the electoral process for the disabled persons and the Norwegians living abroad".

In order to guarantee transparency, the experiment will be followed by representatives of the Council of Europe and by a commission of Norwegian political party representatives.

• The e-Vote Project website