1 - Voting Procedure
At the polling station during Election Day:
Voting takes place from 06:30 in the morning to 1900 in the evening. A voter can only vote at the polling station where he/she is registered. The polling officers assist in the process of voting. There will also be polling agents representing candidates. During a general election, a Parliamentary elections runs concurrently with the Local Government election and the following procedure is followed:
- Upon entering the polling station the voter presents himself/herself before the polling officer.
- The voter presents his/her identity card (Omang) and voter registration card to the presiding officer who will confirm that the particulars of the voter correlate with the information in the voters’ roll; that the voter has not already voted at that election, or that he/she has not become disqualified from voting.
- The name of the voter and number are called out
- A mark shall be made on the copy of the voters roll against the name of the voter to show that he/she has been issued with a ballot paper.
- The voter’s registration card shall also be initialled and dated at the back by the presiding officer.
- The voter shall then be issued with a ballot paper for electing a Member of Parliament.
- The voter shall go into the polling booth where he/she shall secretly mark the ballot paper and fold it to conceal his/her vote, and put the ballot paper so folded into the ballot box.
- The voter then proceeds to the next polling officer(s) for the election of a member of a local council. The procedure similar to above is followed to vote for a councillor of one’s choice.
- The polling officer shall not give any assistance or explanation to a voter other than to direct him/her to a polling booth where he/she may vote; informing him/her of the procedure he/she is to follow after entering the polling booth.
- A person voting outside Botswana shall be issued with a ballot paper and ballot envelope. The name of the constituency under which that person has been registered, shall be written or stamped on the envelope. The voter will then enter the polling booth to cast his/her vote. He/she shall then put the ballot paper into the ballot envelope and seal it. He/she shall then deposit it into the ballot box provided.
- Election personnel and police officers voting during advance poll shall be issued with a ballot paper for the election of a Member of Parliament which one shall mark, fold and deposit into a ballot box.
- One shall also be issued with another ballot paper and ballot envelope for the election of a councillor. The name of the polling district under which that person has been registered, shall be written or stamped on the envelope. The voter will then enter the polling booth to cast his/her vote. He/she shall then put the ballot paper into the ballot envelope and seal it. He/she shall then deposit it into a ballot box provided.
- Where a voter arrives to vote and there is an objection made against him/her, the presiding officer will cause declarations to be made under oath, and the voter objected to will cast a vote. The words “protested against” shall be endorsed against the voter’s name on the election roll.
- A voter who is incapacitated by blindness or other physical causes from voting shall be assisted by the presiding officer to cast his/her vote according to the wishes of the voter.
2 - Closing of Poll
When the time for closing of poll has elapsed and all the voters who turned up to vote have voted, the presiding shall close and seal the ballot box, prepare relevant paper work and transfer it to the returning officer at the constituency counting centre or polling district counting centre.
3 - Closing of Poll
When the time for closing of poll has elapsed and all the voters who turned up to vote have voted, the presiding shall close and seal the ballot box, prepare relevant paper work and transfer it to the returning officer at the constituency counting centre or polling district counting centre.
4 - Verification
- The returning officer shall, as any ballot box is received from the polling station, in the presence of any candidate or counting agent, proceed to verify the accounts of the polling station.
- The returning officer shall prepare a statement as to the result of the verification
- After examination, in the case of ballot papers, the returning officer shall return the unused, spoilt and cancelled ballot paper to the packet from which they were taken and shall reseal such packets with his seal.
5 - Counting of Votes & Release of Results
Ballot Papers
- The returning officer shall sort the ballot papers in respect of each candidate and at the same time the tallying officers record the votes accordingly in the tally sheets.
- The returning officer shall reject and endorse the word ‘rejected’ on any ballot paper on which:
- Anything, except the serial number, is written or marked by which the voter can be identified.
- A voter has voted for more than one candidate.
- If any candidate or counting agent objects to a decision made by the returning officer on any ballot paper, the returning officer shall endorse the words “objected to” on the ballot paper.
- The returning officer shall record the results in Form T
Releasing of Election Results
After having ascertained the results of the poll the retuning officer shall:
- Certify by endorsement on the writ the return of the candidate elected.
- Declare the result of the poll by reading such endorsement aloud at the place of counting
- Return the writ so endorsed to the Secretary.
Polling Stations and Districts
IEC has established 25 outstations responsible for clustered Constituencies.
Constituency | District Head Office | Designation and Address | Tel/Fax |
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