REBUTTAL: PIUS MOKGWARE AUDIO-VISUAL CLIP

Reference is made to an audio-visual clip circulating on WhatsApp and other Social Media platforms featuring former Member of Parliament (MP) for Gabane-Mankgodi Constituency, Rre Pius Mokgware.

In the clip, Rre Mokgware states that the IEC gave them and used two different Election Rolls for the 2019 General Elections. He further alleges that the first roll, a consolidated roll with a total of 23 108 voters was given to them while for the general elections, IEC issued a second roll with 17 585 voters. This, he said created a disparity of 5 250 voters between the two rolls which the IEC must account for. Not only does the former MP demand an account of the difference but further insinuates that the IEC had a motive to deliberately fabricate the figures in the Election Roll to influence the outcome of the elections. These insinuations are false and calculated to cause confusion amongst the electorate and cast aspersions in the integrity of the Election Roll and the credibility of the outcome of the elections in consequence.

It is here placed on record that the IEC issued to all political parties existent at the material time, all the rolls following each phase of voter registration. The certified General Roll issued had a total of 17 858 voters. Later, after the first and second supplementary registration phases, the IEC issued certified rolls with 1 163 and 4 147 voters respectively. The final roll, an amalgamation of the three stand-alone rolls, had a total of 23 118 voters as at 11^th September 2019. The Election Roll is the final and certified roll used in the 2019 General Elections. At the time of printing the roll for the polling stations, the total number of voters had reduced to 23 108. The difference is accounted for by deaths of 10 voters in the Gabane-Mankgodi Constituency.

It has been noted that the former MP did not differentiate between the figures of the General Roll and the Election Roll despite having been issued at clearly distinct periods and shared with all political parties, including his. He further disregarded the numbers that came with the supplementary rolls.

We wish to assure the nation that the roll used for the 2019 General Elections in Gabane-Mmankgodi Constituency and all the other constituencies. The 23 108 is a cumulative of the figures captured by the 41 polling stations across the Gabane-Mmankgodi Constituency during the three phases of voter registration.

In the same clip, the former MP continues to claim that some people who were allegedly found in possession of multiple voter registration cards, voted more than once in the 2019 General Elections. We wish to clarify that any voter who might have been in possession of multiple voter registration cards, irrespective of how they acquired them, could vote only once, at a polling station where they have a valid entry in the roll. All other entries are rejected and rendered invalid for participation in the electoral process, including voting.

The IEC continues to avail itself to any stakeholder for clarity on any issue within its constitutional mandate of ensuring free, fair and credible elections.

Secretary, IEC

1^st November 2019