05 Mar 2018

Principal election officer in Maun, Mr Guylord Ralokwae has concurred with some members of the Party Liaison Committee (PLC) that trafficking of voters from one polling station to another is not only undemocratic but also a crime.

He revealed during a committee meeting that Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has increased fines for such crime from P4 000 to P7 500 and stressed the need for committee members to intensify education to sensitise the communities about the development.

He said voter trafficking was a serious concern to the commission and that the commission alone could not win as the issue needed concerted efforts by all key stakeholders to address.

However, earlier on some members asked what IEC has in place to address the issue of massive voter trafficking during election process.

They argued that mostly young people were vulnerable as they were enticed by money noting that people who are transferred to other places through voter trafficking end up disadvantaging their places of origin because government channels developments based on the population of each area.

But, Mr Ralokwae encouraged those who traffic voters to desist from such behaviour and exercise responsibility and discipline adding that the fines affect both those trafficking people and those who agreed to be trafficked.

Furthermore he called on all stakeholders to embark on an education drive to sensitize the communities about the repercussions of voter trafficking as some members stated that some people agreed to be trafficked because of lack of knowledge.

He said through civic voter education, those who agree to be trafficked would be conscious of the implications of their actions. Members were also urged to report any irregularities to IEC during election process.

However, senior election officer, Ms Nobutu Kakanda explained that IEC has made efforts to reduce voter trafficking by suspending supplementary registration.

She said the commission was overwhelmed by a lot of transfers during supplementary registration time and realized that these transfers had an impact on voter trafficking.

On other issues, Mr Ralokwae told the gathering that preparations for the 2019 general elections were on going adding that general registration would start on September 3rd to November 11th.

He called on all political parties, candidates, campaign managers, dikgosi, and all people holding positions of responsibility to encourage and urge people to register to vote.

He said around June, they would put some advert to recruit enumerators/officers who would conduct the registration exercise which is scheduled for 10 weeks.

He said registration was a critical stage as it paves way for IEC to process other activities such as inspections, objections, roll certification, nomination, ballot paper printing and voting.

“All these activities have their bearing on voter registration, as members of the committee, we should be seen to be at the forefront encouraging the communities to understand the importance of registration and voting,” he added.

Some members wanted to understand if the new electronic voting machine would be used but Mr Ralokwae explained that the machines were not yet procured because the issue has not been finalised.

He said once it is finalized, procurement of the machines would be processed and that the general public would be educated on the use of the said machines. ENDS