BCP condemns unilateral electoral reforms
Ryder Gabathuse | Thursday July 20, 2017 16:20
Addressing the party’s ninth national conference at Setlalekgosi Junior Secondary School last Sunday, Saleshando said the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has maintained its culture of disregarding opposition parties by amending the electoral law to its advantage.
He cited recent electoral amendments that saw increased fees paid by those who wish to contest elections, abolishment of the supplementary registration for elections, and replacement of ballot papers with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
He was worried that the electoral law amendments were hurried through Parliament and critical stakeholders such as political parties were not consulted.
“The high fees introduced for candidates will affect us adversely as our candidates, unlike those of the BDP, have to bear the full campaign costs with no financial assistance from the party,” he said, noting that the abolition of supplementary registration will result in a smaller voting population denying many Batswana the right to exercise their democratic right of choosing a government of their choice.
The EVM system, he said, would mar the elections with controversy it is associated with in the few countries that utilise it.
“We have a small voting population of less than one million voters and countries like the United Kingdom with over 30 million voters are able to count their ballots and release the results within 24 hours of the polls closing.”
The BCP has decided to mount a legal challenge against the EVM and the other changes made to the electoral laws. The BCP finds it important to protect the integrity of the country’s electoral processes,” he said.
The BCP president said it was apparent that the public through kgotla interactions had rejected the EVM, but the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in alliance with the Executive had decided that public opinion did not matter.
“The IEC has not subjected the procurement process of the EVM to a competitive bidding process, as is the norm,” he said.