The voice of the civil society is urgent

The voice of the civil society is urgent
The voice of the civil society is urgent

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Member of Parliament for Mahalapye East, Honourable Yandani Boko’s electoral reform motion must be passed by Parliament without fail this Friday.

Botswana has lost its integrity in democratic credentials, including upholding of free, fair and credible general elections. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) MPs must support this motion to help redeem their party’s integrity. The motion comes just after the release of the IEC National Stakeholders Evaluation Report for the 2019 General Elections. Honourable Justice Abednego B Tafa, the IEC Chairperson, describes the 2019 general elections as “highly charged and competitive political environment.”

The Report is concerned by the diminished electoral integrity of Botswana General Elections. The stakeholders included Civil Society, Academia, Media, Political Parties, Electoral Commission of Zambia, Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the Secretariat of the Commissions Forum of SADC (ECF-SADC). The report acknowledges that the 2019 general elections encountered multiple challenges including multiple entries on voter registers, widespread online interference on the electoral process, absence of legal framework to ensure accountability and transparency. The report listed 20 key recommendations for strengthening of the electoral processes towards enhancing their credibility. Vision 2036, on the other hand, observes: “Effective electoral management system and regular free, fair and credible election of leaders into office are important ingredients of a democratic system. All these are premised on an electoral system that is acceptable to the majority of the electorate. The electoral management system will offer fair, free and credible elections that ensure elected representatives are chosen in a manner consistent with the electorate’s aspirations and preferred voting system. Our electoral system will satisfy the ever evolving expectations of citizens. Our electoral management system will be anchored in an independent, efficient electoral management body.”

Editor's Comment
Congratulations Anicia Gaothuse!

The contest had 10 beautiful young girls as finalists and unfortunately only one could wear the crown.The judges picked Anicia Gaothuse. To all those who feel their contestant should have won ahead of Anicia for whatever reason, hardly; the judges found Anicia to be the best among the best, so desist from disrespecting our newly crowned queen on social media or anywhere else, for that matter! Each of the 10 beautiful young women had supporters...

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