21 Mar 2021

The Electoral Amendment Bill tabled by Leader of the Opposition and Maun West Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Dumelang Saleshando was on Thursday defeated after a parliamentary vote.

A majority of MPs voted against the bill. It sought to amend the Electoral Act in order for parliamentary votes to be counted at polling wards instead of being transported to a central point for counting as is the current procedure during general elections and bye-elections. 

Mr Saleshando had said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had presented stakeholder’s consultation reports which had motivated for such a change to be effected.

He also said the African Union and Southern African Development Committee (SADC) parliamentary forum observer missions had made related proposals in official reports having observed Botswana’s elections.

He said the change would quicken the counting process before the ballots were sent to the constituency counting centre for final tallying and verification. Mr Saleshando said it would also cut transportation and associated logistical costs in some constituencies where wards were a distance apart.

Those who were against the adoption of the bill said they wanted the MP to wait for the constitutional review in order for a comprehensive look at how to improve the Electoral Act.

They further said since parliamentary candidates had the right to reject results and ask for a recount, having the counting process in different localities would make it difficult for candidates to be present and satisfy themselves that the counting process went well.ends