Africa-Press – Botswana. Retired Secretary of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Gabriel Seeletso, has revealed that he was never approached by the current administration for advice on managing the electoral process and avoiding potential pitfalls.
This comes at a time when the current IEC is grappling with credibility issues, particularly following a controversial benchmarking trip to Zimbabwe and recent mishandling of advanced voting for polling staff.
Asked by this publication if he has been following the 2024 elections and his thoughts on the process so far, Seeletso responded: “I would not really want to comment on this year’s elections because like any other citizen, I am observing from a distance.
“I have run my race”
“I am not fully informed on what is happening. What I see is no different from what any other citizen is seeing. I have run my race, and as you know, everyone writes their own story and history. Let the incumbent write his own.”
Regarding whether the current IEC secretary ever sought his advice during this challenging period, Seeletso answered: “No, I have not been approached for counsel.”
However, he left the door open regarding his willingness to offer support. “I am retired and I can’t say whether I would agree or not,” he said. “It would depend on the nature of the request. Despite my retirement and my desire to enjoy it, my patriotic duty has not been retired.”
Refused
Seeletso refrained from commenting on the specific issues surrounding the recent challenges around advance voting. “I do not know what happened and wouldn’t want to make any comment now,” he said. “Besides, I do not want to be accused of wanting to rule from the grave.”
The former IEC secretary also refused to comment on the controversial benchmarking trip to Zimbabwe that has drawn criticism due to Zimbabwe’s history questionable conduct of elections.
“I don’t want to comment on that matter because I don’t know what they went to do there,” Seeletso said tersely.
Operational challenges
The IEC has come under intense scrutiny for its mishandling of advance voting for polling staff during which several operational challenges emerged. This is some observers to suggest that issues stemming from the controversial benchmarking trip to Zimbabwe are starting to surface.
The IEC secretary has acknowledged the recent ‘mistakes’ and assured the public that improvements will be made.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have raised concerns, warning that the IEC’s failure to effectively manage advance voting for a small group could foreshadow a disastrous outcome for the upcoming national elections.
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