Voila, one of Haiti's largest mobile phone companies, wants to help increase voter turn out in the March 20th Haiti presidential elections by providing better technology to Haiti's Electoral Council (CEP) and decrease improprieties by providing some cool cash to help both candidates hire more polling stations observers.

Here is the official news release from Voila's mother company, Trilogy International Partners:

Trilogy's Voila Commits Technology and Establishes Private Sector Fund to Support Free and Fair Elections in Haiti

BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Understanding the critical need for Haiti to conduct a successful presidential run-off election on March 20th, Haitian wireless provider Voila announced today it will provide Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) with enhanced text messaging capabilities to facilitate voter turn-out.

Voila has also committed $100,000 to a fund that it's establishing to support the recruitment of polling station observers throughout the country to thwart improprieties and bolster public confidence in the final election results. Voila is a subsidiary of Trilogy International Partners, based in Bellevue, Washington.

The innovative SMS application allows a mobile phone customer to request information from the CEP on the location of the polling station where the customer is registered to vote. In an effort to encourage broader participation, the CEP is also staffing a call center to handle inquiries and help voters properly identify their polling stations.

In addition, Voila has established a private sector fund to ensure the two presidential candidates have the necessary resources to hire poll observers throughout the country.

The fund will be administered by Haiti's Private Sector Economic Forum (Forum Economique du Secteur Prive (FESP),which will collect donations and distribute the funds to both presidential campaigns. Voila, a founding member of FESP, will contribute $100,000 to the effort and is encouraging others interested in promoting fair elections to contribute as well.

"It's important we move forward with the elections and usher in a new government that can help lead the Haitian people to a brighter future," said Brad Horwitz, CEO of Trilogy International Partners. "We're proud to leverage the capabilities of our network in support of the CEP's efforts and encourage the private sector to promote a credible and transparent democratic process."

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