12 Feb 2020

Mogalakwe loses petition case with costs

The High Court of Botswana in Gaborone has, on Wednesday night dismissed with costs Mogalakwe Mogalakwe’s election petition case.

The High Court also ruled that the second respondent being BDP's elected Councillor Kesebelwang Gaorongwe was duly elected for Moralane ward in the Shoshong constituency on October 23, 2019.

The three-member panel of judges namely Gaopalelwe Ketlogetswe, Omphemetse Motumise and Itumeleng Segopolo made a ruling on the late hours of the very last day of the case as dictated by Section 120 of the Election Act.

The Act dictates that an election petition case shall be tried and determined within 90 days of its commencement and Wednesday February 12 was the 90^th day since the filing of a petition on November 14, 2019.

Mogalakwe of Aliance for Progressives was petitioning the Independent Electoral Commission (first respondent) and Botswana Democratic Party (second respondent) for what he termed irregularities that occurred during last year’s general elections at Moralane Primary School polling station.

Among Mogalakwe’s allegations were; inadequate lighting in the polling room and non-extension of polling time even though there were people inside the voting station at the time of closure (7pm), both of which the respondents dismissed as untrue. END