BCP takes IEC to court over voters roll and elections
Botswana Congress Party (BCP) has taken the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to court on a certificate of urgency over what they perceive as irregularities in the voter registration roll.
Addressing a Town Hall meeting at the Royal Aria Garden this Tuesday morning ahead of Wednesday's general elections, BCP leader, Dumelang Saleshando revealed that the party has spent years engaging the government on the issue, but their complaints have not been addressed.
Saleshando pointed out that the current system is inefficient, with piles of hard copies used for voters’ roll inspections.
'We have lists showing voters registered more than once and others with duplicate ID numbers,' he disclosed, adding that the BCP will continue to pursue legal action until the issue is resolved.
'We strike when it matters, and we will get the results we seek,' he asserted.
Spokesperson of the BCP, Mpho Pheko explained to this publication that there are a number of factors which made the BCP take the IEC to court on urgency. She explained that there are a number of malefactors they observed during the advanced voting and a number of civil servants did not vote because the IEC failed them.
The BCP has been doing a manual analysis of the voters’ roll and they have identified names that are registered more than once. Pheko noted that the IEC is refusing with the digital copy of the voters’ roll and this makes it very hard for them to do a more thorough analysis.
Pheko said that they want IEC to comply with their demands and they do not wish to tamper with the date of elections. She said once their lawyers are finished with filing the lawsuit, more information will be made available to the public.