04 Aug 2016

Central District Council (CDC) councillors have applauded the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for intentions to use the electronic voting machine in the general elections.

IEC secretary, Mr Gabriel Seeletso, said the bill to amend the Electoral Act to allow for the use of the electronic voting machine was before Parliament for approval.

He said once the bill was  approved, IEC would come up with a strategy to implement it, taking into account consultations, trainings, procurement and robust voter education.

He said use of the electoral voting machine would mean that all the processes taken during elections would be done through the machine.

He said general elections were sensitive, hence the need to be handled in a transparent, fair and democratic manner.

He said candidates who stood for elections never stopped complaining about the system of voting adopted by the IEC, citing the use of disks and ballot papers.

He said therefore, IEC took note of their complaints, hence the move to use the electronic voting machine to replace the ballot papers. He said this system  was effective, adding that Namibia was using it.

A representative from electoral commission of Namibia, Mr Nico Mingelius said Namibia conducted its elections electronically, adding that it had used the electoral machines for the past 25 years.

The electronic voting machine, he said, helped the country address issues of registration of voters, actual voting, transportation of ballot boxes and delay in announcing election results.

He said his commission engaged in vigorous voter education so much that it managed to get everyone on board, as such he urged IEC to reach out to all stakeholders. 

He said the machines were user friendly thus could be used by illiterate people. The machine, Mr Mingeliu said, saved time since counting was automatic, fast and accurate. In addition there was no problem of spoilt votes.

Central District commissioner, Ms Thobo Letlhage said in an interview that the voting machine would be a welcome development and would help government save costs, adding that it had been costly for government to run elections as it required so much manpower.

She said the commission grappled with payment of returning officers, presiding officers and other employees involved to run the elections. She said the use of machine means less hours of work, and less manpower required.

She said the machine would help address issues of long queues, long process of verification and counting.

For his part, Central District Council chief whip for opposition parties, Mr Jordan Makhura welcomed the proposed development, saying the electoral process was changing for the better.

He said once approved, the IEC should conduct vigorous voter education particularly elderly people as the youth were abreast with technology.

Central District Council vice chairperson, Mr Ketshwereng Galeragwe also commended the use of the new voting machine, adding that it would improve the voting process.

He said Central District was vast with some areas not connected to the power grid, therefore he said it was good that the machine could be used in such areas as it was powered by a battery that can last 52 hours.ENDS