27 Feb 2018

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale has told Parliament that in the various interactions with Batswana they welcome the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) .

Responding to a question in Parliament, Mr Molale said government was therefore proposing an amendment of the law as it was a well-known practice that after every general elections, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) organised a workshop to evaluate the conduct of such elections.

He said the workshop was called the National Stakeholders Evaluation Workshop  (NSEW) and recommendation number 22 of the workshop held after the 2014 elections was that electronic solutions should be introduced in the voter registration and voting processes to improve efficiency of process. Minister Molale said recommendation number 23 proposed the review of the legal framework to accommodate such reforms. He said the statement by Francistown South MP, Mr

Wynter Mmolotsi that the Kenyans used EVM in their last elections was incorrect.

He said the Kenyans voted by way of a ballot paper and they used electronic voter verification devices in place of voters’ rolls.

MP Mmolotsi had asked the minister why he wanted to continue with the use of EVM “even though many Batswana are uncomfortable with it, and if the minister is aware of the problems brought about by the use of this machine in the recent Kenya elections.” ENDS