EVMs: The next debate in Botswana politics

Dithapelo Keorapetse | Friday May 20, 2016 14:43

In November last year, the Secretary of the IEC, in trying to get political parties and government on board, organised an election observation/benchmarking mission comprising the two Ministers politically in charge of elections; the Ministers of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration and Local Government and Rural Development and three Parliamentarians. Currently, the IEC, the Presidency and three MPs and three councillors are in India, Chennai and Bangalore for further benchmarking which includes election observation and visit to the manufacturer of the EVMs.

The roles of the Offices of the President and Local Government and Rural Development in elections are well documented; the President appoints the IEC Secretary, he or she dissolves Parliament and issues a Writ of Elections, in other words he sets the election day, he or she issues a writ for by elections of MPs and nominates specially elected MPs and the Vice President. The Presidency through the Directorate of Public Service Management controls the IEC staff in terms of HR issues and is responsible for resources of the IEC, it is the Minister in the Presidency who presents and defends the IEC budget in Parliament, he or she answers all questions relating to the IEC. More or less the same can be said about the Minister of Local Government on Councillors’ elections. The two Ministers were accompanied by three Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). The group observed regional and local government elections in Windhoek polling stations including the location of Katutura. The team also had the chance to be educated on the EVM by the Namibian Electoral Commission which has used the system in their 2014 Presidential and Parliament and 2015 Regional and Local elections. The team observed how the EVMs work in Namibia and appreciated how they have significantly improved their electoral process particularly long queues and the process of reconciliation or tallying and counting.

EVMs are used in Indian General and State Elections for electronic voting. The machines reduce the time in both casting a vote and declaring the results compared to the traditional paper ballot system. Invented and designed by Indian Government Company under the Ministry of Defence, Bharat Electronics Limited based in Bangalore, the machine uses a two-piece system with a balloting unit presenting the voter with a button (momentary switch) for each choice connected by a cable to an electronic ballot box. An EVM has two units, control unit and balloting unit; the two are joined by a five meter cable.  The control unit is with the presiding officer or a polling officer and the balloting unit is placed inside the voting compartment or booth. Instead of issuing a ballot paper, the electoral officer in charge of the control unit will press the ballot button.  This will enable the voter to cast his vote by pressing the button on the balloting unit against their candidate and symbol of choice. According to Bharat Electronics and those who have used the machine including IT people, the controller used in EVMs has its operating programme etched permanently in silicon at the time of manufacturing and by the manufacturer. No one (including the manufacturer) can change the programme once the controller is manufactured. The machine is designed to suit the “one person, one vote” principle of democratic elections, you can’t vote twice. The machine is powered by a six volt alkaline battery and doesn’t need electricity, so it can be used in rural areas where there is no power. It is also portable and not heavy and can be carried around easily in a container.

In terms of the Namibian electoral laws, there is a requirement of a mock voting to test the machine at a polling station by candidates and political parties with the elections officers and observers. Parties are also allowed to observe the entire process and put their seals at the end of voting to avoid any further voting or tampering. Moreover, there is now a paper trail in Namibia and Bharat has now invented a printer with printouts that can be used for verification if need be. The issue of a paper trail was a big issue in Namibia but they’ve since addressed it.

As soon as the last person has voted, the elections officer in charge of the control unit will press the close button and the EVM will not accept any more votes. The balloting unit is also now separated from the control unit and kept separately, in full view of observers or parties. The officer then presents an account of votes recorded. At the time of counting of votes, the results are displayed by pressing the results button. There are two safeguards to prevent the result button from being pressed before official counting of votes. The button cannot be pressed before the closing button is pressed and the end of voting and secondly the result button is hidden and sealed (political parties and candidates can put their special seals); these can be broken only at the counting centre by the officer in charge and in front or full view of everybody. Bharat has asked for proof that the machines can be tampered with. The use of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail further enhances the use of EVMs, in India this was recommended by Professor PV Indiresan commission.

The EVMs are not without limitations and there are security concerns. These machines require the highest form of independence, integrity and public confidence on the electoral management body and the government of the day. Political parties and candidates must be involved in the entire process of electronic voting. The process requires utmost transparency from the start to the end. It doesn’t matter what Bharat Electronics or Electoral Commission of India or Namibia say, the fact is trust is at the centre of the electoral process. Therefore, if security fears or issues in Botswana or any country contemplating the use of the EVMs  aren’t allayed or addressed, suspicions will remain and may dent the credibility of the process.

The introduction EVMs should come with the total independence of the IEC in terms of staffing and resources and other ways and other fundamental changes in the electoral process such as elimination of the powers of the president. The international conference on the Indian EVMs and tamperability of the machines of 2010 and the research of Hari Prasad, Rop Gonggrip and J. Alex Halderman should give us some good lessons to enhance their use if we accept them at the end of the day so that at the end the process is free, fair, and credible and reflect the democratic will of the people of Botswana.