PPDAB dismisses BCP case on purchase of EVMs
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday February 10, 2017 11:55
The direct appointment of Bharat Electronic Limited was done in December 2016 when people had gone on festive holidays. The BCP president Dumelang Saleshando confirmed yesterday in an interview that they had received a dismissal letter of their application on Tuesday.
“They only gave us two reasons; that the documents of direct appointment of an Indian company, Bharat Electronic Limited are confidential and that we could have lodged the complaint 14 days before the announcement. We are going to consult our attorneys on the way forward about the matter. This announcement was done while we were on holidays,” Saleshando said.
This comes after Saleshando wrote to the PPDAB on January 25, 2017 requesting it to reconsider the appointment of Bharat Electronic Limited for supply of the EVMs. “At present we are not privy to the facts and circumstances motivated by the Ministry for such a direct appointment.
In order to enable us to prepare for our case and place before your Board additional grounds for revisit of such decisions, we request for the entire dossier forming the basis for your motivation and reasons thereto. If you fail to give out the said documents, we confirm our intention to approach court to direct you to give out the said documents,” the letter stated.
The letter said in other jurisdictions, courts have held that such machines are used by the ruling party to perpetuate fraud in the electoral process.
“It is our contention that in view of the fundamental importance of the electoral process and the right of all citizens of our republic to exercise their constitutional rights to vote without any impediment and the basic requirements of transparency in the electoral process, that such an important procurement process which has an impact on the lives of citizens cannot be left to the decision of a few individuals without going through the rigorous tender process,” it says.
Saleshando said in his view if the procurement of such an important electronic equipment was to go through a competitive tender process, issues relating to the voting procedure, determination of the results in a reliable way, the calculation process that the machine carries out will, through a competitive bid, enable the board to thoroughly examine and interrogate this issue.
He continued; “This will instil trust in the accuracy and the auditing procedure of the process. In the absence of a competitive tender process we are constrained to believe that the government of the day together with its state agents are not in an elaborate conspiracy to deny the opposition victory in 2019.”