Growth in Botswana’s democracy – Political analyst
The legal clash between the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is viewed by political analyst Lesole Machacha as a positive sign of democratic growth.
Instead of seeing it as a crisis, Machacha suggests that Batswana are growing in their understanding of their rights in the political process.
Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe’s ruling on Friday at the Francistown High Court, favoured the UDC in their demand to have members observe the election registration processes.
“The information that the UDC seeks to record during the registration process is neither secret nor confidential. In any event, it is the kind that will ultimately be made public, and the UDC is expected to object to its efficacy,” Ketlogetswe said.
“How then can the UDC effectively do so without having captured the raw data for itself with which to compare the voters’ roll prepared by the IEC?” He emphasised the transparency aspect.
“The IEC seems to me to be putting itself unfortunately in a position where it may be regarded as being afraid of transparency. It expresses unfounded fears of alleged intimidation if political parties were to participate in the voter registration process,” the judge said.
The IEC responded by halting the registration process initially set for November 13, 2023. Regarding the issue of the Electoral Commission’s decision to postpone voter registration, Machacha expressed concern that the IEC might be losing credibility by resisting party observation during registration. The political analyst stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in maintaining public trust.
Machacha argued that the UDC’s request is reasonable, citing examples from other countries where political parties observe the registration process.
He highlighted that the UDC would gain access to the voters’ roll during the general election, making their request sensible. The analyst cautioned against any perception of the IEC being influenced by political parties, emphasising the need for the electoral body to remain impartial to uphold Botswana’s electoral integrity.
While suggesting that observers during registration wouldn’t interfere with the process, Machacha recommended the involvement of other government departments to ensure professionalism.
However, IEC secretary Jeff Siamisang defended their stance in a press release, stating that political parties don’t have the right to deploy agents during the registration exercise.
“The suspension of voters’ registration is based on the commission’s belief and conviction that in law, political parties do not have a right to deploy their agents at polling stations during registration exercise to observe and monitor the process, as well as recording voters’ particulars and serial numbers of registration books used,” he stated.
The suspension of voter registration awaits resolution in court, scheduled for November 15, 2023. Siamisang expressed regret for any inconvenience and assured that measures would be in place for the registration to commence post-dispute resolution.
The ongoing legal dispute has impacted the voter registration process ahead of the general elections anticipated to take place by October next year.