Africa-Press – Botswana. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has postponed the registration for the 2024 general election to put in place measures that would help deliver quality registration.
Initially, the IEC had announced that the registration would be from October 4-31 but upon reassessing their readiness for the ‘sensitive’ national exercise, the Commission postponed the exercise to November 1-30.
Speaking during a special meeting of the Bobirwa District Council on Thursday, the IEC Secretary, Mr Jefferson Siamisang, said some of the factors that contributed to the postponement were the unavailability of some materials sourced outside Botswana.
He said local companies did not have the capacity to produce the said material like paper used for registration books.
Consequently, the commission opted to postpone the registration with the intention of ending up conducting some quality registration exercise that would be beyond reproach from those keeping a hawk’s eye on the commission.
“No one should be troubled by this postponement,” Mr Siamisang, who clarified that registration would be delivered smoothly upon readiness, said. “ It is not influenced by some political interests as some have already painted it.”
While alive to challenges such as complaints, doubts and questions about their independence, especially by politicians, Mr Siamisang said the IEC sought to improve the registration exercise based on lessons from the past. During the 2018 voter registration exercise, the IEC roped in Botswana General Certificate in Secondary Education (BGCSE) holders while diploma holders were brought in as supervisors.
However, a lot of mistakes were noted, notably during by-elections.
Mr Siamisang said some registration officers delivered a shoddy job, which resulted in machines rejecting some voters. This caused a stir among some voters hence the need to rope in public officers to help in the registration exercise.
Resultantly, the BGCSE holders will be paired with public officers to smoothen the exercise. Justifying the roping in of public officers, he said, they could be relied upon since they have some legal instruments in place to guide them and are aware of punitive actions that could result from dereliction of duty.
Although alive to unemployment among the youth, Mr Siamisang said voter registration and subsequent elections were a very sensitive exercise that should not be used to address issues of unemployment. Moreover, the IEC was considering hiring active retired officers and pairing them with diploma holders to bolster registration supervision. Registration, he said, will be carried out every day with reduced hours during weekends.
However, Mr Siamisang said it would be difficult for registration supervisors to keep registration books, a fear that councillors also expressed.
He said keeping books by supervisors would challenge them in collecting and dispatching them in time.
In preparation for the registration exercise and educating the voters about elections, the IEC Secretary said he would hold kgotla meetings in all the constituencies as a means of propping up towards the 2024 polls.
Although constituency and wards maps are yet to be delivered from the Surveys and Mapping office, Mr Siamisang said, the mapping exercise will be completed soon.
He reminded voters of the registration requirements such as being 18 years and above, having a valid Omang and registering at one’s principal residence.
He cautioned against voter trafficking, which he said was fuelled by candidates upon knowing where they would contest. “Some politicians argue that politics is a game of numbers and that a river is supplemented by tributaries as they seek to justify trafficking of voters,” he said.
In case of transfers, which are legally permitted under Section 25 of the Electoral Act, voters are required to furnish IEC officers with valid reasons.
However, he observed that it is politicians who advance reasons on behalf of those they trafficked. He reminded councillors that council wards were established under the council borders contrary to beliefs they were under the constituencies.
He also said the Bobirwa District Council will have three new council wards following the completed demarcation exercise.
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