Botswana National Front (BNF) president, Duma Boko, has pleaded with voters to complement the efforts of the party’s Madibelathopho activists.
Madibelathopho, Boko says, are volunteers charged with keeping a close eye on the electoral process to ensure a fair election.
When officially opening the BNF Policy Conference in Shoshong today, Boko urged all to be part of Madibelathopho and physically stand guard at polling stations through to the final counting to ensure the integrity of the vote.
Boko said it is the responsibility of every person of goodwill to become a part of Madibelathopho and defend the country against any civil strife arising from electoral outcomes that are devoid of credibility and integrity. “Every voter and citizen, every media practitioner is automatically part of Madibelathopho with one common goal of enacting the constitutional imperative as well as democratic impulse of ensuring the integrity of the vote so that electoral outcomes are truly a reflection of the will of the voters.”
He said that Madibelathopho are committed to undergo intensive training on the electoral process as laid down in the Electoral Act and then attend at every polling station to monitor closely to ensure that there is full accountability and no room for electoral fraud.
Boko noted that experiences from the 2019 elections have instilled in them a deep mistrust for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and have also witnessed its manipulability, especially by the DIS. “We have taken upon ourselves to discharge the constitutional imperative of providing heightened scrutiny and meticulous monitoring of the entire electoral process to defend the integrity of the vote.”
He said that in the Serowe West By election, the IEC conspired to conceal and withhold voters’ rolls from UDC polling agents for over three hours before availing them.
He said it was clear the voters rolls had in fact been readily available and deliberately withheld by the IEC for reasons that have to date not been disclosed. “It took firm resistance and vigilance of the UDC polling agents and election clerks to force the IEC to abandon its attempts,” he said.