IEC objection cases rise to 588
Correspondent | Friday June 6, 2014 14:28
“The highest one is Jwaneng-Mabutsane by 303 followed by Mogoditshane with 141,” said Rapoo. According to Rapoo, Kanye has recorded 69 cases while Ramotswa and Tsabong have recorded 47 and 16 respectively. Lobatse has nine cases while Mochudi has three cases.
“In total we have 588 objected cases. This shows that Batswana are now responsible when they inspect the voters’ roll,” Rapoo said.
He said voter trafficking could easily be managed if people register cases.
Rapoo explained that those who are perpetuating it would know that other people are not taking the issue lightly. He was impressed that the plot owners are cooperating with them to register such cases when they realise that some people had used their plot numbers illegally.
However, Rapoo said the IEC does not entertain cases that were reported to them after 42 days of inspection. “I urge politicians and ordinary citizen to register those cases within the specified time to avoid their cases falling off. I believe the number of cases could have increased if some people could have inspected the roll in time,” he said.
Rapoo urged Batswana to stop being trafficked by politicians because they would end up being legally held responsible alone.
In reaction to his constituency registering an unprecedented number of objections, the candidate for Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Shawn Ntlhaile has said the issue of Jwaneng-Mabutsane is complicated since some people have moved out of Jwaneng after voter registration. “I have heard of those rumours that some people had been trafficked. We are working hand in hand with the IEC to establish whether these are people who have been trafficked or not. If indeed some people had been trafficked, then appropriate action should be taken,” Ntlhaile said.
He said the other problem that is likely going to happen, in the mine houses especially, is that a new tenant may not know the previous one, and therefore would not attest to the names of those appearing on the voters’ roll.
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Reggie Reatile stated that he had registered 139 objection cases after they realised that people were registered illegally. “There is a lot of unprecedented voter trafficking in our area this year than ever before,” Reatile said. Curiously, there are no objections before the courts from Gaborone, despite the many media reports of detected voter trafficking. Recently, Mmegi reported that 88 people registered at one plot in Partial and the owner denied knowing any. Only six people were found to be staying on the plot.
In another case, 40 people are illegally registered to an non-existent plot in Bontleng. Mmegi investigations later revealed that the plot number, given as being in Bontleng ward, was in fact for a plot in neighbouring Selemela ward where no one lives as there was an incomplete structure. But because the UDC objections were registered after the 42-day inspection period, the IEC stated that nothing could be done, and as such the alleged fraudsters qualified to vote in the October elections.
The published cases however, are from the first registration. With more controversies in the second and final supplementary registration, more cases are expected. But even then, with voter trafficking seemingly implicating all parties, compromises are happening. Just yesterday, the Village Magistrate Court heard a case in which the BDP candidate withdrew a case that he had registered against 30 people who had registered unlawfully at Goo-Ntswa ward in the Ramotswa constituency.