Direct election of President: Wrong prescription
Friday, March 22, 2019
The opposition has always had it among its electoral reform requisitions, which it believes would improve the nation’s democracy outlook. The ruling BDP on the other hand, only helped to pass the motion, not out of any known noble principle, but to illuminate its current egoistic factional standoff.
Although the call for direct election predates the constitutional amendment enabling automatic succession and the sequential evoking of executive powers by the immediate past president, it is the latter two that actually irked the conscience of many people. The appreciation of the need to do something about the Constitution was therefore inflated and hence the likely risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...