Romania Uses Blockchain to Secure Presidential Election Vote Counting
Romania’s Permanent Electoral Authority (ROAP) has adopted blockchain technology to count and validate presidential election votes, marking a significant milestone in the integration of technology into democratic processes. The system went live on November 24, allowing voters and observers worldwide to follow election data in real-time.
Ovidiu Damian, a Romanian blockchain developer at Pi Squared, announced the news on X, humorously remarking, “Romania casually using blockchain tech to ensure election integrity… probably nothing.”
The blockchain-based vote-counting system uses the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), a network of nodes spread across 27 European countries. Romania’s Special Telecommunication Service (STS) partnered with the electoral authority to ensure transparency and security. According to the STS, the system enhances trust by providing traceability and anchoring the data’s digital fingerprints in the EBSI network for an additional layer of verification.
As of this writing, over 83,000 blocks containing cryptographically verified votes have been added to the blockchain. A live dashboard on ROAP’s official website offers public access to the ledger, underscoring the system’s commitment to transparency.
Romania’s Growing Blockchain Presence
This isn’t Romania’s first foray into blockchain innovation. The country has steadily embraced the technology in recent years:
2023: ICI Decentralized Services launched an NFT trading platform in collaboration with the MultiversX Foundation.
2024: Romania’s national news agency, Agerpres, published its first official news story as an NFT, forever registered on the MultiversX blockchain.
MultiversX (EGLD), a blockchain created by Romanian developers Beniamin and Lucian Mincu alongside Lucian Todea, has gained recognition as a promising Ethereum rival. Experts praise its sharding technology and scalability, with CIOs like Justin Bons calling it the “technological Holy Grail of crypto.”
A New Standard for Election Integrity
Blockchain enthusiast Andu Tabacu highlighted the broader significance of Romania’s blockchain adoption, stating, “Blockchain is becoming an incredible truth-machine with real-world use cases. This technology ensures true ownership and validation like nothing else.”
This move by Romania could serve as a blueprint for global election systems, demonstrating how blockchain can enhance transparency, security, and trust in the electoral process. With blockchain’s potential to revolutionize traditional systems, Romania is positioning itself as a leader in technological innovation within government operations.
Featured image from: reddit.com