12 Jun 2017

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) noticed with dismay some media reports which are off tangent with the truth about the Electoral (Amendment) Act of 2016.

The IEC, without influencing anybody’s view point will continue to provide factual information as and when necessary to empower the public on the electoral amendments.

The IEC would like to make it known that the ‘leaked’ report that was referenced in the media was a product of a preliminary fact finding initiative by the Commission to appreciate the nature of the electoral technology that the recommendations had made reference to.

The report as quoted, explicitly recorded an array of pros and cons associated with the implementation of the technology as experienced by one country and it was not in any way conclusive.

As the preliminary fact finding mission it affirmed the need for in-depth investigation on the technology.

It would have been premature and foolhardy for the Commission to have made conclusions on whether or not to progress the stakeholders’ recommendation on the basis of a trip to one country that implemented the technology.

It would have been also parochial to decide on the technology without investigating it at the manufacturers’ level.

The referenced ‘leaked’ report was used to inform the level of investigation on the electoral technology before any advice could be given to the relevant authority.

Such further investigation therefore, required strategic representation in the form of the Executive and Legislative bodies in view of the anticipated implication of the reform.

As a result, the subsequent benchmarking trips in addition to IEC staff, comprised Members of Parliament and Local Authorities (councilors) from both the ruling party and the opposition with a clear and obvious purpose.

The result of the subsequent benchmarking trips proved that the “concerns” which emerged from the preliminary mission to Namibia could be avoidable through the introduction of distinctive security features to the technology.

Other countries which abandoned the technology were also visited to appreciate reasons for their decision.

The IEC followed this pragmatic approach to come up with a more reasonable advice to the Executive regarding the recommendation on the technology.

This approach does not in any way suggest paradoxical position by those who formed part of the preliminary fact finding mission regarding the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines.

The IEC is legally bound to implement the electoral amendments including educating the public on the reforms. 

Failure to do so, the Commission will be defying the dictates of the law. Invariably the respect to the rule of law by the IEC does not in any way display tendencies of disregarding public opinion or being defiant in its course as presumed by some media reports.

Again, IEC exists to serve the public and this include giving people information about the amendments to the electoral law so that when the time comes to make a decision, they would make an independent and informed one - Knowledge is Power and such power is derived from information.

Extensive voter education on the EVM remains the responsibility of the Commission and it will remain accountable to the public.

Part of its accountability is to implement the amended electoral law by sensitising and educating the public continuously as long as time allows up to 2019. BGCIS