AP objects certain voters' registration
Kaelo Kebotse | Wednesday May 29, 2019 11:51
Batumi Ngube and Ace Ntheetsang of Monarch North and Kanana wards brought the applications before Chief Magistrate Faith Dlamini-Ngandu respectively on Tuesday.
However, Ngube withdrew his application stating that he smoked the peace pipe with the 13 voters that he initially thought fraudulently registered in his ward although they were not principal residents of the ward.
Ngube added that the alleged trafficked voters may help him in future.
One of the respondents expressed displeasure with Ngube’s application and implored the court to order Ngube to pay her transport costs while another vowed to institute legal action against him.
Chief Magistrate Dlamini-Ngandu acceded to the withdrawal of the application. She then ordered Ngube to pay all the costs of the application that may have been incurred by the purported trafficked voters.
In a similar matter, Ntheetsang a former Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillor who stood for elections as an independent candidate after being defeated during the party’s primary elections before the 2014 general elections, but has now jumped ship to the AP, registered a similar matter before the same court.
Unlike his colleague, Ntheetsang told the court that he was pursuing his matter against 12 voters whom he is of the view were trafficked to register and later vote in Kanana ward.
However, only three of the respondents who were subpoenaed to attend court appeared in court for the hearing.
Said Dlamini-Ngandu: “Several people are respondents in this matter, but are not before court. The respondents may give different reasons why they registered concerning this application. This application is for now withdrawn in order for the clerk of court to register the cases of the respondents separately. The case will resume at 2pm before the substantive magistrate, Kaveri Kapeko”.
Dlamini-Ngandu added: “Some of the respondents were not summoned to appear before court. Each of the respondents must have a different file. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) must go and serve everyone who was summoned to come to court. If some of the respondents were served to appear in court but choose not to do so, the court may make a determination against them in their absence. All the respondents who appeared in court this morning are warned to come to court again today at 2pm”.
An Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) council candidate for Tholodi ward in the Tonota constituency, Kagiso Sefume, has also registered a similar application before a different magistrate at Francistown Magistrate’s Court.
According to section 18 of Botswana’s Electoral Act (objections), (1) Any person whose name is included in a roll for any constituency may object to the inclusion of any other name appearing therein or in any other existing roll relating to that
constituency.
(2) An objection shall be made in writing in Form G, and shall be delivered to the principal registration officer for the constituency together with a deposit of P10 within 21 days in the case of the supplementary roll, and 42 days in the case of the general roll, of:
(a) the date of publication under section 14, of the roll to which it relates; or
(b) the date on which notice of an insertion is given in pursuance of section 27 where the objection relates to the name of the voter inserted in a roll in pursuance of section 25 or 26(a).
(3) On receipt of an objection under this section the principal registration officer shall forthwith set down the objection for hearing before a magistrate and the magistrate shall appoint a place and as early a date as is practicable for the hearing of the objection.
(4) The principal registration officer shall cause the objector and the person to whom the objection relates to be notified of the time and place appointed by the magistrate for the hearing of the objection and shall forward to the person to whom the objection relates a copy of the objection.
(5) The magistrate shall then determine the objection.