Half-billion pula to facilitate elections
Spira Tlhankane | Tuesday February 13, 2024 06:00
The TNDP's fiscal years span from April 2023 to the upcoming financial year ending in March 2025. According to the 2024-2025 draft estimates of expenditure from the consolidated and development funds, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which is tasked with conducting and supervising elections, has already utilised P120,800,000 in the first fiscal year ending next month. The estimates indicate that the IEC is expected to spend P373,896,000 for the 2024-25 financial year which commences in April.
The P64 billion TNDP tabled by Minister for State President, Kabo Morwaeng, in December 2022 aims to be a catalyst for economic transformation over the next two fiscal years. In comparison to the 2019 election budget of around P510,902,554, this year sees an increase of P17.9 million to accommodate various changes.
The budget is expected to rise due to factors such as the increase in constituencies and wards. The 2022 Population and Housing Census results revealed a population increase from two million in 2011 to 2.3 million in 2022, an uptick of 15.9%. Consequently, the Delimitation Commission had to divide constituencies like Okavango, Mogoditshane, Maun, and Mochudi. Mogoditshane, for instance, had to be divided after surpassing Molepolole as the largest village in Botswana, boasting an estimated population of 88,098. New constituencies and wards mean additional work and costs for the IEC in facilitating the multi-million pula election held every five years.
The half-billion development budget for election facilitation will also cover unforeseen extra costs that may arise during the entire election cycle, from voter registration to polling day. Last year, the IEC postponed the voters' registration period, incurring unforeseen costs, to prevent the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) from observing the registration period. Besides the development budget for election facilitation, the IEC's recurrent budget has also been increased for the upcoming financial year, starting in April and ending in March 2025. The authorised expenditure for the 2023-2024 financial year was P82,182,780, with a slight increase of around P3.5 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. As the IEC prepares for what is likely to be a busy election period, costs are expected to accumulate.