31 Oct 2023

The public has been urged to trust and respect the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which has been mandated to run elections. 

The Vice President, Mr Slumber Tsogwane, pleaded with the public on Monday during a kgotla meeting in Rakops. 

He implored the public to abide by the Electoral Act and follow established protocols. 

He said elections are governed by policies that Batswana should familiarise themselves with. 

“We should not allow anything that could tarnish our elections,” he said. Mr Tsogwane said the IEC had strived to administer elections that are accurate, safe, secure and accessible to all voters. 

He said Botswana has been praised for running peaceful, free and fair elections and that was what has led to the tranquility and peace in the country. 

He said the three stakeholders in elections, the IEC, voters and politicians, should at all times learn and understand electoral processes. 

Mr Tsogwane said it was important that  all stakeholders  followed the Electoral Act as well as understand what was provided for in the Constitution regarding elections. 

He said a Party Liaison Committee that deals with stakeholders was  established to inform and educate them about elections. One of the residents, Mr Boikanamang Kgakololo, wondered how it would be risky to count ballot papers at polling stations since security is provided at all times by the Botswana police. 

Mr Gagoitsewe Stofane wanted to know the position taken by government regarding propositions by members of the public on the direct election of the President. Mr Sebiletso Kelebopetswe asked if voting in cattle posts was not voter trafficking. 

In response, Mr Tsogwane stated that criminal activities had taken place in the past in the presence of the police in instances where criminals realised that they outnumbered the police.  He stated that there were already activists groups that might threaten elections like Madibela Tlhopho who were not even part of the IEC. 

All parties, both ruling and opposition, he said had won elections previously and the idea of having a central counting station should not be an issue. 

Mr Tsogwane stated that the issue of whether a President should be directly elected is an issue that would be handled by Parliament through constitutional amendments debates.   

He allayed fears that voting in cattle posts could lead to voter trafficking. Ends