Botswana to Role Out Voter Registration Exercise for 2024 Elections

By Xinhua 

December 31, 2023

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in Botswana on Saturday announced that voter registration for next year’s general elections will commence on Jan. 5, 2024.

“It is all system going and the registration of voters has been slated for Jan. 5 to Feb. 3, 2024, ahead of the much-anticipated 2024 parliamentary and local government elections,” said IEC Secretary Jeff Siamisang when updating journalists about the IEC’s preparedness in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, adding that all the materials and human resources needed for the smooth running of the process have been availed. The southern African country’s 1,800 polling stations will open from 8 a.m., local time, to 5 p.m. daily, including weekends. Botswana citizens aged 18 years and above are eligible for registration, said the IEC secretary. This voter registration was postponed twice in November this year after Botswana’s main opposition — the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) — took the IEC to court seeking to be allowed to deploy registration observers across the country.

The registration observers from the UDC were expected to record names, identity card numbers and serial numbers of registration books of voters for the duration of the general voter registration period. The Botswana Court of Appeal, however, ruled against the decision, arguing that the deployment of observers is not provided in the country’s electoral act. Botswana will hold its next general elections in 2024 on the exact month and date yet to be announced.