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IT’S NOW UP TO THE VOTER

13/08/2023 15:34:00 Thobeka Manyathela

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The new amendments will put paid doubts and give the elections the ‘free and fair’ stamp of approval.

Both central government and the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) have done their part to ensure that the 2023 poll goes ahead without hindrance. This has been done through various preparatory measures, which include the amendment of relevant legislation, voter education and others. In the past week, the Elections Act, 2023 and Voters Registration Act, 2023 became law. These laws, which were Bills at the time, were tabled by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Pholile Shakantu, towards the end of the tenure of the 11th Parliament.

The Elections Act, 2023 amends the Elections Act of 2013, with the view to promote transparency, equity and credibility of the Eswatini elections. Enactment of the new law now makes it official that persons nominated for the position of constituency councillor (bucopho) will only know their fate after the secondary elections. Previously, such candidates would be voted for and know the outcome of the election right after the primary elections stage. This meant that indvuna yenkhundla and Member of Parliament (MP) candidates kicked off their campaigns, these men and women would already know whether they had won or lost.

overwhelmingly

We will recall that when the Bill was tabled, outgoing MPs overwhelmingly supported the changes as they felt that some winners of the bucopho category began using their newfound influence to sway voters towards candidates of their choice in the other categories. In a sense, they played kingmakers. Section 7 of the amended Act now reads: “Following acceptance of nomination, a candidate for Bucopho shall proceed to be elected at the secondary level.” Another interesting amendment to this particular law is in Section 64. The long and short of this aspect is that the presiding officer, in consultation with the returning officer, shall ensure that counting of votes takes place right at the polling station where votes were cast. This will do away with the previous procedure of taking ballot boxes from each polling station and transporting them to a central area where votes would be counted. This is an excellent amendment.
The transportation of ballot papers from one place to another was usually a subject for gossip as it cast doubt on the veracity of the final outcome.

We will never know if it actually happened but it was a common conception that some of the ballot boxes would be tampered with along the way, so as to favour certain candidates. Some people were of the view that this was done to give candidates favoured by the State an unfair advantage over others. The new amendments will definitely put paid to such doubts and give the elections the `free and fair’ stamp of approval. It will promote transparency and credibility of the polls. When the curtain falls and winners and losers know their fate, the voters’ decision will be final. This will most likely reduce the court challenges that usually arise after elections, resulting in expensive and drawn-out legal battles.

Registration

That said, one of the highlights of the new Voters Registration Act is that there will no longer be a need for competent witnesses (imisumpe) in elections. This was the case before and during the 2023 registration exercise. However, it will no longer be a requirement in 2028. Section 13 has been amended to provide that a person applying for registration as a voter shall produce either documentary proof of Eswatini citizenship and residence or in the case of a foreign national, documentary proof of permanent residence issued under immigration laws and documentary proof of ordinary residence issued by a chiefdom or polling division under the inkhundla of residence. This will save government a lot of money as previously; competent witnesses had to be paid to verify something that was already confirmed by the official identity (ID) card.

In the 2023 elections, for example, some of the competent witnesses would be found idle, with nothing to do as registration clerks merely wanted the national ID as proof. These IDs have a chief code at the back, which confirm the applicant as an eligible voter. Imisumpe were practically paid for nothing. That is why I say government and the EBC have played their crucial role in this process. It is now up to the individual voter to make the right decision. As things stand, only the capability, intelligence and mind-set of the voter will be ‘on trial’ when the elections are held. The voter’s capacity to choose wisely will be tested. In Eswatini, there is no educational standard set for candidates.

However, it is the voter’s prerogative to decide if they want illiterate people or school dropouts to form the next government. Voters should reject candidates who will go to Parliament to stare at the walls or doze off on those comfortable chairs. They can do this by affixing the all-Important cross on the faces of people who will fully understand the duty of a legislator.
It is time to ensure that mistakes of the past are not repeated.

complained

We have complained about the calibre of MPs we elect for too long, yet we are the ones who vote for them. It is now time to prove that we are an enlightened nation. I am actually impressed that among the nominees who will be battling it out, come August 26, 2023 and later, September 29, 2023 are dozens of youthful candidates who possess rich academic qualifications. Some of them are known social and political activists. The absence of a minimum education requirement should not be a problem for voters, though. In the United States of America, to qualify as a presidential candidate, one should only be a natural-born citizen, be at least 35 years old and lastly, have been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years. However, voters always have their ideal candidate in mind and look at many other qualities, which are not stipulated as requirements in law. They have never voted an illiterate person into power. Well, that is with the exception of Andrew Johnson, who apparently had little formal education but then, that was in the 1860s.