The deep-seated uncertainty caused by a recent amendment to the law that will see an introduction of electronic voting machines in Botswana’s electoral process is something that has not received the kind of attention it deserves given not just the importance of this development, but also the likely ramifications.
Because the amendments to the law were brought before Parliament on a still to be explained Certificate of Urgency, there has been no thorough public debate to the changes.
Even worse, the debate inside Parliament was itself so short and at such odd hours because that fewer Members of the Public had a first account of just what really transpired inside Parliament ahead of this important changes to the law being made.
Already the vultures are flying low. And suspicions abound.
Elections are by nature an important but very fragile component of a democracy.
Tampering with them is not something that can be made light of.
While the amendments to the law were unpardonably and unquestionably irresponsible, the ramifications will with time most certainly prove disastrous and irreparably damaging.
It’s difficult to determine what the calculus of those in power really, but evidence of bad faith on their part grows more obvious by the day.
It looks like once again our political leaders are up to something.
What exactly, we are not able to say. And as always, they are not being upfront with us.
As one commentator put it this week, it is a leap into the dark.
The fact that we are all being called to have faith goes a long way to demonstrate the child-like world of fantasy that our political leaders live in.
The benefits of the machines ÔÇôand they are very few – are simply not worth the risks.
In a modern democracy, no government that does not treat its people like animated toys would rush through parliament such a fundamental, far reaching and substantive change governing the ethos of how governments are elected without soliciting however rashly and/pretentiously, the general opinions of voters.
It only happens in Botswana.
Vast amounts of literature show that contrary to assertions by the Independent electoral Commission that the machines are tamper proof, even the manufacturers of these machines have admitted that indeed it has happened in the past that the integrity of these machines were compromised.
This week, the Intelligence Services dispatched a press release saying this paper’s coverage of the electronic voting machines risked the stability and the security of the country.
The truth of the matter is that it is the manner that the law was changed that has arguably been the riskiest gamble by our government in living memory.
To the argument that Botswana must move with the times, and that such a technology is in line with such progress, we need to point out that Botswana’s elections were already problematic enough without such seismic changes. And that such hasty changes, even for a moment assuming that they are in good faith can only undermine what progress has been made.
The haste with which all of this was done and the risks inherent in the changes will inevitably lead to what the Americans call “buyer’s remorse.”
Thus the stakeholders, most important of all, the opposition parties whose voices of reason wee drowned the high numbers of ruling party Members of parliament that are disproportionately higher than their party’s share of the popular are genuinely worried.
Nobody knows for sure just how verifiable will be the results of elections conducted through the electronic voting machines.
Nobody knows for sure the extent to which the elections results will be audited. This already murky situation becomes even uglier when one starts to hear assertions that there will be no paper trail.
The consequences of introducing the electronic voting machines are easy to predict: Trust and with it integrity of the entire elections process will be lost.
Thankfully there is still time to limit the damage.
Botswana’s next General Election is only in October 2019.
There is thus no haste for President Ian Khama to sign off the changes to the amendments to the electoral law as passed by Parliament a fortnight ago.
Between now and 2019 there can still be a public debate on just why as a country we have to be going in the other direction when the whole world is moving the other way.
President Khama should allow for such public engagement to happen.
There is absolutely no urgency in the introduction of electronic voting machine.
