Sayid was addressing a national youth workshop in Gaborone yesterday aimed at strengthening youth involvement in elections.Sayid however, acknowledged that omitting voter and civic education in the commission's mandate was a huge mistake. She admitted that it is self-defeatist to encourage the citizenship to participate in the electoral process without providing empowerment and educational programmes. Sayid said they have recently started to engage the youth more. She added that there was confusion as to whose role it is to disseminate education pertaining to elections and the IEC.
"The commission took the initiative in 1999 to do so though not mandated to carry out the task," she said. Sayid said they are working towards listing voter education under their mandate. She said it is essential to engage young people and other stakeholders, especially in rural areas because information rarely circulates beyond urban centres. Moreover, she said the situation creates the danger of selective democracy.
