07 Mar 2018

Independence Electoral Commission (IEC)’s coorditor of Electoral Voting Machine (EVM), Mr Gabriel Seeletso has informed Boteti Party Liaison Committee (PLC) that the commission’s responsibility was to conduct and supervise elections.

Mr Seeletso said this on March 5, stating that the custodian of democracy were citizens of Botswana and IEC’s responsibility was to facilitate their interest and intentions by conducting elections in a manner provided for in the law.

He said law reforms bring changes and it was not always easy for everyone to adapt to reforms, citing that EVM was not an exception.

The meeting followed a decision taken by the sub-district party liaison committee to halt any discussions on EVM as it was still before court.

Mr Seeletso said the decision to use EVM during the 2019 general elections was an act that had been passed by Parliament and had to be implemented.

“Our business is to implement the law as passed by Parliament as per section 65 (a), and it is my duty to implement it as is,” he said.

Democracy, he said, was anchored on the observance of the country’s laws, and there has to be an institution vested with the responsibility of implementing such laws. 

He stated that he would not be ashamed of delivering service to the country.

Some of the issues raised, he said, were perceptions, noting that everyone was free to have their own perceptions. He stated  that  it was essential to enhance the process of conducting elections.

The major problem that is in the tool, he said, is with an individual who would be using it.

Mr Seeletso dismissed believes that EVM could lead to cheating, indicating that cheating could also be done with a ballot paper. 

The commission, he said, had decided to use a machine that had an independent signal and that, he said, ruled out the question of hacking.

 He stated that delay in the release of election results could attract more complaints from the public.

He said his office would buy machines that to be used to train people on its usage, and if the EVM use is ruled unconstitutional, then the use of ballot paper would be revisited. 

He indicated that two to three months was adequate for the.

He stated that in line with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal (PPAD) law, there was a provision that direct tendering for a product required was permissible after full justification to the PPADB.

He stated that a market research was conducted on reputable EVM companies, countries using EVM, as well as countries that used it and abandoned it. 

That, he said, informed IEC on the best machine that could be used, adding that socio-economic issues also came into play to inform decisions of the commission.

The law, he said, initially suggested that an electronic voting solution should be used to address the issue of spoiled ballots and enhance the time frame of producing results.

The commission, he said, was independent in decision-making, adding that there was no one who influenced its decision.

Mr Seeletso was responding to questions asked by Mr Balopi Chilume, who had raised a complaint that all these years Botswana had been using a ballot form of voting without experiencing any challenges.

Mr Chilume was also sceptical that people could be trained on the usage of the EVM within a month, adding that Batswana were also against its usage.

He stated that other countries had conducted elections for a week due to high populations.

Ms Daisy Bathusi requested an explanation on why the commission preferred direct method of tendering other than an open tender when purchaseing the EVM.

Ms Bathusi asked the commissioner to explain IEC’s independence, and requested him to state how IEC would assure Batswana of a fair contest as a custodian of ensuring free and fair elections.

She also reqested Mr Seeletso to state how the office would address perceptions that the upcoming elections would not be fair. ENDS