BNYC turns to technology for DYC elections

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Friday November 25, 2011 00:00

 

The BNYC has launched a new system of electing district youth leadership, where they will vote the leadership commonly known as District Youth Councils through an SMS (Short Message Service), the organisation has said. The date for the elections is next year, end of January.

The positions that the youth will compete for are that of chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary general, treasurer and three additional members.

In an interview with Mmegi on Wednesday, BNYC Executive Director, Benjamin Raletsatsi, said they are moving away from the old system where the DYC executive committees were elected in Kgotla meetings. He said all youth aged between 18 and 35 years are eligible to vote and can do so by sending an SMS through any of the three cellular networks, Mascom, beMobile and Orange. The process is ongoing and started three weeks ago.

Raletsatsi said the youth would register as delegates for their district. The BNYC has divided the country into 33 districts, with cities such as Francistown and Gaborone each split into two. He said the districts are what they call district administration centres and they intend to have the elected DYCs aligned to the district commissioners across the country. This will ensure that the youth are roped into district development and play an active role in representing the youth at various leadership forums.

'To register as a delegate one also has to send their names in full, identity number, age and residence to an SMS line and they would be automatically registered,' he said.

The executive director also said that those who want to stand as candidates can follow the same route as delegates, but should also include the district in which they want to stand for elections.

He revealed that from the SMSes, an elections committee would make a voters' roll and at the same time vote for those who applied to be candidates. Those eligible to stand for elections should be within the 18-35 age bracket, of good conduct and without a criminal record and 'a holder of minimum requirements of Cambridge certificate for chairperson and/or deputy chairperson, certificate in Human Resources or related field for Secretary General and professional accounting background for Treasurer,' reads a press release from BNYC.

The BNYC executive director also says that those engaged in party politics are not eligible.

'Delegates who have not reached the age of attaining national identity cards shall be the only ones allowed to use passport or birth certificates for identification. Delegates without a valid national card shall not be allowed to vote.

Registration of delegates or candidates shall be conducted and charged as stand-alone items,' he said.