22 Feb 2017

Government has no intention of amending the electoral law and /or undertaking any administrative reforms to allow for official identification documents such as driver’s license and passport to be used for purposes of election registration and voting.

This was said by the Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale in response to a question from MP for Selebi-Phikwe West, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse in Parliament on Tuesday.

Mr Molale said Omang would continue to be used during registration for elections and voting as it was the primary document to prove citizenship status.

He said section 18 of the National Registration Act renders it an offence punishable by law not to have an Omang upon attaining the age of 16.

“For a citizen to obtain either a passport or driver’s license, if not a minor, it is a requirement to have a national identity card (Omang). I therefore do not have any intention to go against the provision of the law,” he said.

Furthermore, Minister Molale said elections are by their nature sensitive, and when reforms are introduced indiscriminately and without caution, they have the potential to create room for manipulation, which could in turn compromise the integrity and credibility of electoral processes.

Selibe Phikwe West legislator had asked the minister if he was amenable to the causing of electoral law and or administrative reforms to allow for official identification documents such as Omang, driver’s license and passport to be used for purposes of election registration and voting to reduce hurdles and encourage participation.

MP Keorapetse also wanted to know when that would  happen and if not why. BOPA