Institutional Mechanism of National Identification Card: Bangladesh Experience

Abstract

National ID card as a legal identity promises a host of goods that have tremendous potential to improve people’s lives. National ID cards are touted to provide greater access to services, benefits, and opportunities; greater protection of human rights and security; a more legitimate and equitable distribution of public resources. Seventy-nine million National ID cards (NID) were distributed to Bangladeshi citizens as part of the 2007/2008 voter registration process. The cards served as a powerful incentive for voters to come to registration centers.  During the voter registration process the Bangladesh Election Commission declared that the ID cards would be needed for 22 public and private services. Now, NID cards are making an impact on the daily life of Bangladeshis despite the fact that their legal status remains unclear, as Parliament has not passed the National Identities Registration Authority (NIRA) Ordinance. This study tempted to discuss about the experience of Institutional Mechanism of NID. The experiences of two countries (Ghana and Pakistan) have been discussed as a case study also to find the missing point of Bangladesh. It seems that with the legal status sound mechanism of ID, user friendliness, updating procedure, protection of duplicate registration and well equipped infrastructure is required to attain the deserved outcome from NID.

Keywords: National ID card, Institutional Mechanism, Citizens’ Information, Effectiveness