28 Feb 2021

The National Assembly on February 25 deliberated upon the second reading of the Electoral Amendment Bill presented by the Leader of  Opposition, Maun West MP, Mr Dumelang Saleshando.

Mr Saleshando had presented the bill for Parliament to take a decision to amend the general election procedure, where parliamentary ballots are transported to a central point for counting, to rather have them counted at respective polling wards.

He said in the past, all ballot boxes for parliamentary and council ward elections were sent to one constituency electoral centre for counting, but ahead of the 2009 general elections, the process of counting council ballots at ward level was introduced to quicken the tallying process.

Mr Saleshando said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had presented reports after consulting stakeholders in the aftermath the 2004 and 2014 elections to the effect that parliamentary ballot counting should also be done at ward level before they are sent to the constituency centre for verification, to minimise delays and inconvenience.

He said such recommendations tally with those of the AU and SADC Parliamentary Forum, which had also made similar recommendations in their reports having observed Botswana elections.

Mr Saleshando also said the difficult terrain in some of the large constituencies in the countryside where wards were a large distance apart, leads to a delay in counting and the relaying of the results, and also led to costs for both the IEC and candidates’ polling agents in transporting the ballots.

In expressing opposition for the bill, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Kabo Morwaeng, said there had been a motion requesting electoral reform from Malahapye East MP, Mr Yandani Boko.

He said Mr Saleshando should have rather waited for Mr Boko’s motion to be debated and concluded first. Mr Morwaeng also said if there were to be any changes to electoral law, they should be done holistically instead of having a piecemeal approach to different elements.

Also opposing was Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Eric Molale, who noted that the bill sought to improve the efficiency of counting ballots and introduce cost containment.

However, he said this was a contraction since the opposition had been against the introduction of the Electronic Voting Machine, which Mr Molale said would   have a shorter turn around time of result announcement and costs reduction in ballot transportation.

Selebi Phikwe MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse expressed his support for the bill, stating that international instruments, including those of the SADC, that gauge the democratic process, included the counting method as one of the critical elements for free, fair and credible elections.

In addition to ward level ballot counting, Mr Keorapetse said Botswana needed electoral reforms, including greater autonomy for the IEC, for the election date to be known in advance, set by an independent board instead of the President, who is a party political candidate.

He further called for election dispute mechanisms to be strengthened to ensure that electoral petitions were not dismissed on technicalities, but addressed on their merits.

Also in support of the bill was Jwaneng/Mabutsane MP, Mr Mephato Reatile, who said in his experience as an electoral observer in various countries, it was a recommended best practice for counting to be done at the polling wards.

He said running a transparent election whose process was supported by all stakeholders would assist the democratic process and improve the country’s standing as a democratic country. ENDS