16 Oct 2019

An official from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says Party Liaison Committee (PLC) members have the role of sensitising voters on the general elections procedures.

Speaking during the PLC meeting in Francistown on Tuesday, Principal Elections Officer Mr Nyanga Nyanga said it was important that PLC members familiarised the political party members with electoral laws and code of conduct.

The meeting was held to update PLC members on the state of preparedness for the 2019 general elections and also to emphasise the need for the commitment and unity as the October 23 general elections approach.

He noted that during the elections, canvassing for votes and shouting slogans within the 200 meters from the polling station would result in one being charged a fine not exceeding P1000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding a year or both. 

He said during the pre-election process, the IEC experienced some issues among them late coming by some concerned parties while one political party failed to nominate a candidate at Tshwaragano. 

He cited another instance where a political party failed to nominate a member because they had two prospective candidates contesting for the same party.

Mr Nyanga said Francistown recorded a decline in terms of people who registered as compared to the previous elections which he attributed to due to some transfers.

He said in all the nominations only one independent candidate registered for the parliamentary seat in Francistown West.

Mr Nyanga explained that in their preparations for the upcoming elections, they had successfully introduced election topics in the school curriculum, recorded an increase in youth participation and also reduction in the number of election petitions.

However, he said even though they recorded some achievements there were some challenges during the preparation such as voter apathy, especially amongst the youth and language barrier. 

Mr Nyanga urged all Batswana to be ready for the October 23 general election, adding that polling staff had been adequately trained to deliver as expected. ENDS