31 Jul 2024

A Bill that seeks to amend the Electoral Act to have the ballots for both parliamentary and council elections counted at polling district headquarters is before Parliament for debate.

Presenting the Bill on Tuesday, Member of Parliament for Maun West, Mr Dumelang Saleshando, said he was proposing the amendment for the third time because previous promises that the issue would be considered during the constitutional review exercise were never honoured.

Mr Saleshando argued that the amendment would be convenient, particularly in vast constituencies.

“Most of our rural constituencies have bad roads and others have wildlife which poses a risk as most ballots boxes travel more than three hours at night to counting centres,” he said.

He said there was also no doubt that transporting ballot boxes impacted on the reputation of elections and raised suspicions and risks.

He said the amendment was in line with recommendations of international and regional organisations including the SADC Parliamentary Forum.

“The forum, in its norms and standards of elections, indicates that counting of votes should be done at polling stations, and Botswana is a signatory to this agreement,” he said.

He added that Botswana had also signed other agreements with organisations such as the Elections Commissions Forum and the African Union.

He said in 2005, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) consulted all parties where there was a consensus to count ballots at polling districts.

He said the exercise was also done at party level during primary elections and had proved to be trouble free.

Mr Saleshando indicated that even though the amendment called for counting at polling district headquarters, the ideal arrangement would be counting at polling stations.

“However, polling stations might have inadequate security and under-resourced, which is why the Bill proposes designated polling districts within a ward instead,” he explained.

He argued that Botswana had a small voting population of around a million people, but with the current arrangement, it took between two and three days to finish counting.
“Britain, with a voting population of around 48 million, recently counted their ballots within 24 hours,” he added.

He also advised that elections were an emotional exercise, and therefore needed to be done within a short time to dispel any misconceptions and enhance transparency.

“Past arguments that the parliamentary ballots needed to be brought to a central place so candidates could personally satisfy themselves with the counting exercise does not hold any water as they can have agents at polling stations,” he said.

He pleaded with legislators across the political divide that in contributing to the Bill, they should put national interests above those of their parties.

Contributing to the debate, Minister for State President, Mr Kabo Morwaeng, said government was committed to counting of ballots at polling stations as recommended by regional and international organs, but that due to inadequate security at polling stations, it was a risk to consider doing so.

“SADC and other organs insisted on counting at polling stations, so if we move counting to polling districts it might not be in line with the recommendations,” Mr Morwaeng said.

He therefore advised on delaying the amendment until the right time.
Debate on the Bill continues. ENDS