This story came across my email today:

Manama, Jan. 3, (BNA) Bahrain IT Society will organize on January 24 25, the first forum of its kind in the Middle East under the theme of “Bahrain Forum for Electronic Voting”, in cooperation with the United Nations Information Technology Development Program.

The forum will review electronic voting and election- related application technologies and discuss experiences of some establishments and countries in the field for common benefits. The electronic voting system is one of the modern technological systems applied in advanced countries, mainly in elections for being easy and speedy, Director of Elections and Referendum, Shaikha Muneera bint Abdulla Al Khalifa, said in a press conference held in Manama on Tuesday. ” This system mainly serves those, who for any reason, cannot go to polls on time as their votes will be electronically counted”, she said, adding that the forums is a good opportunity for conferees to exchange viewpoints and be familiar with Bahrain’s experience which used electronic voting at a narrow scale in its previous parliamentary and municipal elections. On his part the Deputy Chairman of Bahrain IT Society, Adnan Mahmoud, said a world elite, specialized in computer applications and legal and administrative matters relating to elections, will take part in the forum as key speakers along with More than 150 Representatives of Bahrain and GCC establishments and societies who are also expected to attend.