Following a disappointing first phase of voters’ registration, where the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) attracted only 736,424 prospective voters, the commission will now hold the supplementary voter registration period from February 26 to March 15.
The notice of the appointment for the supplementary voter registration period comes after the IEC revealed that they had achieved 69% of their targeted 1.7 million. After a lengthy court battle between the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and the IEC last year, the initial voters’ registration for the 2024 General Election had to run from January 5 to February 3.
The supplementary registration will be conducted in 61 constituencies. “And notice is given further that every citizen of Botswana who has attained the age of 18 years, and is in possession of a valid national identity card (Omang), and is not disqualified from registration as a voter under Section 6, is called upon to apply in person for registration during the appointed registration period, between the hours specified in the second schedule at the office of the principal registration officer for the constituency where he or she has a principal residence,” reads the notice from the IEC.
