Following a string of losses against the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has been granted its wish to have appeal granted on an expedited basis.
In a case in which the IEC also sought an order staying execution of the interim order granted by Francistown High Court's judge Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe on November 10, Court of Appeal (CoA) Judge President Tebogo Tau this morning ordered that the matter shall be heard as one of urgency to the limited extent that the rules of the court and the time limits are relaxed.
Ketlogetswe on November 10 confirmed an October 31 rule nisi ordering the IEC to allow the UDC to observe and monitor the General Election voters’ registration exercise which has since been suspended indefinitely. After a number of losses in related cases the, latest being the effort to have Ketlogetswe recuse himself in the main application, this is the IEC’s first hope since the whole saga began in late October.
“The circumstances of this case are not only exceptional but of public importance and they dictate that court should exercise its discretion to grant stay of execution pending appeal,” Tau said in her ruling. She ordered that the execution of Ketlogetswe’s orders shall be halted pending the hearing and determination of the expedited appeal.
Tau also said that both the IEC and the UDC shall file and serve their heads of argument by no later than December 8, 2023. Hearing shall be on December 11, 2023.
