13 Feb 2019

 Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in Letlhakeng updated members of the Party Liaison Committee (PLC) on voter registration in both Takatokwane and Letlhakeng/Lephephe constituencies.

Speaking during the PLC meeting on Tuesday, principal elections officer, Mr Clifford Makhiya said IEC had not yet met the set national registration target of over 1.5 million as during the general voter registration they only registered 750 000 voters.

Mr Makhiya further said supplementary voter registration came against a backdrop of low turnout of voters during the general voter registration.

He said PLC members had a role to play in ensuring that Batswana register in large numbers for the 2019 General Elections.

He said the supplementary voter registration exercise, which started on December 17, 2018 and will be ending on March 31, has had low voter registration for both constituencies.

Mr Makhiya said Takatokwane Constituency had so far registered 121 voters while Letlhakeng/Lephephe has registered 122 voters in the supplementary registration.

The principal elections officer said the IEC was committed to making sure that every Motswana exercises their  constitutional right to vote in the coming general elections, but it is important that they register in order to vote.

Mr Makhiya further said as the general elections drew near, they were working round the clock to make sure that all stakeholders were brought on board in preparation for the elections.

He reminded the PLC members that the ongoing supplementary voter registration was only carried out at the principal registration offices, during working hours and no registration would take place on weekends and holidays.

He further advised that even though registration ends on March 31, the official registration time ends on March 29 unless a provision is made for them to work during that weekend.

Mr Makhinya said they had plans to make sure that the challenges they met during the general voter registration do not recur as they prepare for the national elections.

He said during the general voter registration, Takatokwane Constituency registered 11 953 voters while Letlhakeng-Lephephe registered 11 801 voters.

He said he remained hopeful that the numbers would increase during the supplementary voter registration. Ends