Voter registrations double in last supplementary
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Thursday May 15, 2014 11:32
The May 1-18 exercise is currently in its third and final week and represents the last time Batswana will have the chance to register their participation in the October polls.
According to IEC spokesperson, Osupile Maroba, voter registration stations across the country witnessed an upsurge in traffic in the second week of the supplementary exercise.
He said the numbers, which spike around weekends, would likely go up this week with last-minute registrations.
'This is something positive that has to be commended and we hope by Sunday we will have reached our target,' Maroba said.
Maroba said after registering 66,503 voters between May 01 and 11, the IEC was confident it would reach its targeted 1.2 million voters at the end of the current supplementary exercise. Prior to the latest supplementary exercise, it was estimated that more than 500,000 voters were registered.
According to figures released by the IEC for the first two weeks of the latest supplementary exercise, Gabane-Mmankgodi led registrations with 2,046 voters, followed by Ramotswa with 2,044 and Mochudi-West with 1,925.
Other leading constituencies include Lentsweletau-Mmopane, Mochudi East, Molepolole South, Gaborone Bonnington North, Gaborone South, Gaborone North, Maun West and Mathethe-Molapowabojang.
On the other end of the scale, Gantsi North had the least registrations with 481 voters, followed by Kgalagadi North with 498 and Gantsi South with 594. The latest figures reverse the trend seen in the first week of the supplementary exercise where rural areas witnessed stronger registrations compared to urban and peri-urban areas. Maroba said the IEC was delighted that the towns were producing large numbers of registrations unlike in previous exercises.
'This is the last voter registration exercise before the elections and people should turn-up and register,' he said.'Political parties should encourage their supporters to register and desist from voter trafficking which is illegal.'Batswana should also come forward and inspect the voters' roll to see if their names have been recorded correctly.'