02 Jul 2019

An official from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Ms Kahundu Mutakela has urged those who registered during the second supplementary voter registration to inspect the voters roll.

Ms Mutakela, who is the principal elections officer for Lobatse and Good Hope, was speaking in two workshops which the IEC organised to share information with the Lobatse leadership and people with disability about the general elections process recently.

She said it was realised that most of the 10 846 people who registered during the first process last year in Lobatse, did not check if their names appeared correctly on the voters roll before the window closed for checking.

Furthermore, she said few of the 1 268 who registered during the first supplementary registration checked the voters’ roll before inspection closed last week. She said inspection for the second supplementary voters’ roll was ongoing until July 17.

Overall, Ms Mutakela said 14 425 people registered in Lobatse to vote in the October general elections.

She said as inspection of the voters’ roll continued, allegations of voter trafficking had increased in Lobatse.

“We have 247 cases of objections to the voters’ roll in Lobatse which are in court. The objections are mostly about people who allegedly registered using plot numbers where they didn’t stay,” said Ms Mutakela.

She noted that objection cases were mainly made by politicians who were contesting for the elections.

Ms Mutakela warned that those caught engaged in voter trafficking would be liable to a jail term not exceeding six months or fine of not more than P1 000.

She said it was difficult to ascertain voter trafficking since cases usually lacked evidence.

Participants of the workshop, who included chairpersons of ward development committees and customary court presidents, agreed that voter trafficking spoiled the credibility of elections.

Participants for peoples with disability felt that not enough was done to make elections inclusive.

Ms Tebogo Sello, who has visual impairment, said she was interested to vote but was unable to register because of her condition.

She said most people with disability were denied their constitutional right to vote because they lacked assistance in Lobatse. She said they had not even been trained on how to vote using Braille.

They asked for a special dispensation to be made for election officers to take voting material for peoples with disability to vote in their homes.

However, Ms Mutakela said the Electoral Act did not have a provision for voting to be done outside the polling station. She urged them to find people who could aid them to go to the polling station and assist them to vote. ENDS