The National Electoral Commission has begun roll-out of a centralized digital voter register covering eight million eligible citizens ahead of municipal polls.

While officials assert the automated data-matching system eliminates duplicate registrations and speeds precinct check-ins, independent auditors have highlighted error rates among young voters and renters.

A coalition of privacy rights groups filed a formal petition in administrative court on Friday requesting an open technical audit of the matching algorithm.

Election officials maintain that manual paper provisional ballots will remain available at all voting stations as a fail-safe backup.