10 Apr 2023

Mahalapye West Member of Parliament, Mr David Tshere has tabled a motion calling for the reintroduction of indelible ink as a solution to alleged cases of some individuals voting more than once in the past general elections.

Presenting his motion, Mr Tshere indicated that in the past general elections, the last being that of 1999, the indelible ink was used to place a long-lasting mark on the finger of a voter to deter voting more than once.

Prior to the 2004 general elections, Mr Tshere said, the law guiding conduct of the elections was amended, a development which ended the use of the indelible ink.

Recollecting what had resulted in the abolition of use of the indelible ink, Mr Tshere said there was fear that as individuals dipped their fingers in the ink there was a likelihood of spreading communicable diseases.

Mr Tshere said the fear of the ink spreading some infectious diseases was at a time when the HIV virus was at its peak, and therefore through the advice and guidance of health practitioners, government stopped the use of the ink.

Therefore, Mr Tshere said with the advent of technology and improved facilities, it was possible for the ink to be reintroduced and be used without the fear of spreading infectious diseases.

As such, Mr Tshere appealed to legislators to ensure that the motion saw the light of the day and that the Electoral Act was amended to provide for the use of indelible ink.

Mr Tshere was of the view that the use of the indelible ink would go a long way in strengthening the security of the elections. 

He said there was no scientific evidence that the use of the ink had side effects that would affect the health of a person. 

Deliberating against the motion, MP for Gaborone South, Mr Dumizweni Mthimkhulu said the ink was last used during the 1999 general elections and it was prohibited for health reasons as it was deemed to have negative health implications.

He said following the Electoral Act amendment, the use of indelible ink was discontinued to address the hygiene and health concerns that were raised by Batswana.

MP Mthimkhulu, who is also the Assistant Minister for State President said to prevent multiple voting, the Electoral Act provided for marking on the voters roll against the name of the voter.

Furthermore, Mr Mthimkhulu explained that it was a mandatory requirement under the Act for a presiding officer at a polling station to also mark on the back of the voter registration card, as another way of preventing multiple voting.

He also said the elections management system allowed every voter only one valid entry in the elections roll at one polling station in a particular constituency.

Mr Mthimkhulu therefore said a person was eligible to vote at one place where they had registered to vote at hence there was no need to amend section 54 of the Electoral Act by reintroducing the indelible ink.

The Act, he said was stringent enough in its current status to effectively deal with cases of multiple registration and the alleged multiple voting.

Supporting the motion, MP for Okavango, Mr Kenny Kapinga said the laws governing the election process must be tightened, adding that it was important to bring back the use of the indelible ink to close any gaps that were likely to allow a person to vote more than once.

MP Kapinga said during the past elections there were allegations of multiple voting and such were likely to tarnish the electoral processes hence the need to amend the laws.

He said everyone must jealously guard against processes likely to degrade the elections and further argued that marking of voters who had voted was the solution to multiple voting.

Kgalagadi South MP, Mr Sam Brooks said allegations of some individuals voting more than once in the past general elections were never substantiated and therefore could not be used to support the motion. 

Mr Brooks said the security measures put in place had proven to be enough in the past in ensuring fair elections hence it was not necessary to reintroduce the ink.

Meanwhile, the MP for Ngami, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama said the use of the indelible ink would enhance the security and ensure credibility of the whole electoral process.

“In my view the use of the indelible ink will increase confidence and trust in the process of running the elections as the people will be assured that the election results were free of any mischief,” he said.

He said the ink contained non-toxic chemicals, adding that the use of the ink was discontinued for fear of spreading HIV, therefore it was possible to reintroduce it with measures to guard against any health implications. ENDS