The first country in the world held elections on blockchain technology

 On March 7 , 2018  , in Sierra Leone, for the first time in the world, presidential elections were held using blockchain technology. Counting the results was entrusted to startup  Agora.

According to  Futurism, from the  point of view of voters, the voting process was no different from the usual elections. They came to the polling stations, presented documents and put a mark on the paper ballot opposite the name of one of  the 16  candidates for the presidency.

The first country in the world held elections on blockchain technology

The results were then recorded manually using controlled blockchain technology. Unlike the open access blockchain technology used, for example, in cryptocurrency transactions, only  authorized persons can use the controlled access blockchain. In the elections in Sierra Leone, such persons were representatives of  Agora, the Red Cross, the Lausanne Federal  Polytechnic  School  and the University of Freiburg.

However, as in an open-access blockchain, in a controlled blockchain, anyone can watch recorded operations. This means that after checking the results of voting in Sierra Leone by blockchain control companies, they became available to everyone.

According to  Agora,  the company presented the election results 2 hours earlier than the official authorities.

Earlier in the presidential elections in Sierra Leone, riots occurred more than once. Therefore, this country with a high level of corruption was chosen to test a new technology designed to ensure fair elections.

 Agora  plans to use its blockchain technology not only to evaluate election results. She proposes to abolish the use of paper ballots and replace them with voting using personal digital devices. This will reduce costs, provide more convenient access to voters, and also eliminate the possibility of counterfeiting the results of the vote. ^[1]

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