01 Feb 2017

Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) coordinator and former Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) secretary, Mr Gabriel Seeletso has allayed fears of some Batswana who are still skeptical of the use of the EVM.

The EVM has been introduced by the IEC to be used in the next general elections and Mr Seeletso set matters straight at the Electoral Act consultative meeting in Francistown recently.

He said Botswana is a democratic country that has never had conflicts during elections and the introduction of the EVM would not change that.

“The President has assented to the bill and signed it into law recently.

This therefore places the commission under obligation and is duty bound to implement the law to the best of its ability, despite the apparent difference of opinions amongst some political leaders and Batswana in general,” he added.

Mr Seeletso noted that the commission appreciates and respects these varied opinions and will attempt to bring them closer to each other for the good of the country.

Ms Theresa Mmolawa, a resident of Phase IV raised concerns that the public was not consulted in implementing this law.

She further commented that these machines can be programmed to benefit individuals and therefore said she did not welcome the use of the EVM.

In response to Ms Mmolawa’s concerns, Mr Seeletso said the IEC will take heed of the community’s concerns, noting that parliament has reviewed the Electoral Act looking at how the 2014 elections went.

“The IEC normally carries out evaluation workshops after every election to find out how Batswana viewed the elections.

The introduction of the EVM was determined by these evaluation workshops, ” he noted.

He added that the machine will not be affected by foreign entities because its functional specifications will be designed to only focus on what is required by the voter, which would make hacking of the machine unattainable.

Councillor Jenamiso Mojaki of Ipopeng Ward in Francistown South constituency said she supports and welcomes the introduction of the machine because it is evident that it will save time in terms of yielding election results, which has been a challenge in the past. BOPA