Elections Day updates
Staff Writer | Wednesday October 23, 2019 22:02
22:02 hrs Voting is still ongoing in some polling stations across the country, while others have already moved to verification preparing for counting. IEC spokesperson, Osupile Maroba, says the first results, which will be for council elections, are due by 2330hrs. Other Local Government results will follow, then Parliamentary. The Chief Justice will brief the nation the moment any party secures 29 Parliamentary seats, Maroba says, which is the threshold for a majority under the law. In the absence of that, ongoing announcements of the Parliamentary results will continue as usual without a brief from the Chief Justice
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21:29hrs It's too early to tell whether we will accept the results - UDC
Speaking to the media earlier, UDC spokesman Moeti Mohwasa said they have noted irregularities but are still assessing the whole situation to find the magnitude of problem areas.
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21:07hrs Voting still ongoing at Kabakae Kgotla in Gantsi East. The assistant returning officer says there was a high turnout and issues with drunkenness and improper candidate behaviour
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20:45hrs Ballot boxes for ward elections in Tsienyana West have started arriving for counting at Tsienyana Primary School. Polling stations in the constituency closed at 7pm. Counting for parliamentary polls will be done at Rakops Junior Secondary School
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20:43hrs Tensions are rising at IPCC Polling Station in Kgatleng East where about 300 voters are waiting to cast their votes after the gates closed at 7pm. Presiding Officer, Gaorelathe Okot-Awich says 450 voters out of the 947 registered, voted earlier. Delays were due largely to helping the elderly and disabled, she says.
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20:20hrs IEC Results Centre at Boipuso Hall, in Gaborone. This is where the Chief Justice will announce the new president. IEC spokesman Osupile Maroba explained that the final results are faxed from counting centres to the IEC headquarters where they will be fed into a system and displayed at the Centre.
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20:08hrs All voting has officially ended at Rapulane Polling Station in Borolong village, Shashe West, with 425 people casting their votes out of the 525 registered. Presiding Officer 1, Lesego Ntongana says the voting went on without incident except for one young woman who refused to vote for an MP and only wanted to vote for a councillor
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19:44hrs Polling Stations closing Update from Results Centre
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19:19hrs Serowe South Returning Officer, Orapetse Mathumo says they're continuing to serve voters who were already inside polling stations after gates closed at 7pm. The constituency witnessed large numbers of voters during the day and he says voting went well
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19:00hrs The IEC says voting in certain areas of Gaborone North could go 'a few hours' beyond the official poll closing of 7pm due to the high turnout in the area.
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18:54hrs Slow moving queue at Mulambakwena Polling Station in Mosojane ward under Tati West constituency. Thus far, 450 people out of 664 have voted. Officials say the delays are due partly to a large number of elderly voters who require assistance
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18:48hrs Numbers still swelling up at Bosele polling station in Gantsi. Over 700 have voted of 900 expected voters. The returning officer says they have encountered many intoxicated voters. He says they allow them to vote and leave quickly to avoid commotion
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1826hrs Elizabeth Leso (brown hat) could not vote at Eloyi Christian Church Polling Station as the voters' roll indicates her as deceased. The Polling Station has among the highest registrations in Palapye constituency at 846. Presiding Officer, Pako Sepelete-Notice, said they could not help the woman and called the IEC headquarters in Gaborone for assistance. Leso is still awaiting help from the office. So far, over 500 people have cast their votes at the Polling Station but the queue remains long
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18:26hrs In Ghanzi North, the presiding officer is happy with the numbers and states that voting has been smooth save for a few ocassions where some people's names did not appear on the voters roll. He further said ballot boxes from two polling stations in CKGR are on their way as the polling stations closed at 5pm
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18:12hrs At Tsienyane Primary School in Boteti East, Kebofithetswe Chingapane has just been denied voting because she lost her voter registration card. Still at Tsienyane Primary School three other voters have just been turned back because they were supposed to cast their vote at other polling stations
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16:33hrs Parliamentary candidate for Jwaneng- Mabutsane, Shawn Ntlhaile says they encountered some challenges at Khakhea polling station. A polling officer sent away observers and voting only started around 11am after the some intervention.
He also said a government vehicle was seen transporting voters to the polling stations and the incident was reported to the police
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16:15hrs Elections Update from Results Centre
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15:53hrs Presiding officers in Boseja/Flowertown Polling District say the situation is calm despite the postponement of the polls for the Local Government. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) took the decision to cancel voting after realising that the Alliance For Progressives (AP) had been ommitted from the ballot paper. IEC has set November 23 as the new date for voting in the area
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14:00 'I might just sleep' BDP President Mokgweetsi Masisi responding to questions of 'how and where will he wait for the Election results'.
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13:35hrs First time voter, Kefilwe Motswana expresses her views after casting her vote at Satellite Park in the Francistown East Constituency
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13:15hrs: BDP President Mokgweetsi Masisi kissing his ballot paper after voting in the parliamentary election at Mosielele Primary School in Moshupa.
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12:47hrs Rare sight: There was no queue just moments ago at Goldmine School under Francistown South Constituency. Presiding officer, Parole Chimidza said a high number of people voted in the morning, with 191 people out of 338 registered voters having cast their votes
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12:32hrs Voting in Boseja in the Flowertown area in Mahalapye has been cancelled after it was discovered that one of the contesting parties is missing from the ballot paper.
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12:10hrs BDP President Mokgweetsi Masisi voting at Mosielele Primary school in Moshupa
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12:00hrs Local and international press waiting for President Mokgweetsi Masisi Masisi to vote at Mosielele Primary school. Masisi was scheduled to vote at 11am
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11:29hrs UDC president, Duma Boko speaks after casting his vote at Masa School in the Gaborone Bonnington North constituency
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11:23hrs The IEC's new 'streams' system is raising temperatures in Gaborone North. Earlier, voters at Marang Polling Station got fed up with the long hours. Returning Officer, Oarabile Nkwe says presiding officers failed to place the voters in the rightful streams upon arrival. Situation now reportedly under control
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11:00hrs At Newtown Primary School Polling Station in Serowe North, Goitsemodimo Olebeng is upset that no special arrangement was provided for breastfeeding mothers. She says she arrived at 6am and pleaded for assistance to avoid queuing with her baby, to no avail
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10:50hrs At Peleng Central in Lobatse constituency, Returning Officer, Dr Masego Neo Motlhagodi says one voter brought an expired Omang while another went to the wrong polling station. Otherwise, voting is going on smoothly.
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10:46hrs Voting smoothly proceeding at Madiba Clinic Polling Station in Mahalapye West constituency where Presiding Officer, Goleseng Mokalake, says a good number of voters arrived before 6am. A total of 494 people have registered to vote here.
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09:58hrs Inflated queue at Newtown Primary School polling station in Serowe North constituency. Presiding Officer, Keremang Siane-Mpolokang said despite the large turnout, proceedings are running smoothly.
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09:51hrs Strong turnout at Jwaneng New Community Hall, Jwaneng-Mabutsane constituency where approximately 125 people out of the registered 284 have already voted.
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09:32hrs AP president, Ndaba Gaolathe speaks after casting his vote at Boswa Primary School in Gaborone Bonnington South constituency
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09:07hrs 'Everything started well even though there are some polling stations that started later than 6:30am. So far most polling stations are experiencing large turn out. The new Streaming System that divides voters according to streams has caused a bit of confusion but the polling officers are working to solve the problems.' Osupile Maroba, IEC
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07:55hrs Complaints about names not appearing on the voters' roll have apparently been cleared up at Madikwe Polling Station in Bobonong Constituency. Voting now progressing.
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07:42hrs Voting well underway in Palapye constituency, although some are complaining about slow-moving queues at Stand Pipe 42 Polling Station. Polling officers say when they arrived at 530am, several elders were already waiting.
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07:02hrs Phakalane Primary School in Gaborone North Constituency. Some voters are already complaining about their names not appearing in the voters roll.
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06:53hrs Presiding officers explaining the voting process to the electorate at Nyangabgwe Primary School. They are showing empty boxes to the voters. Nyangabgwe Primary School is one of the polling stations at Itekeng ward, Francistown East constituency.
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06:39hrs Elections Day! Urban Customary Court in Gaborone South, first one on the queue says he arrived here at 2:40am