Several members of the African Union Observer Mission in Botswana have said they prefer the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to be fully in charge of elections including setting the date for the polls.

They told the media yesterday that it is not always fair for government to be in control of elections looking at the fact that the ruling party is also a player in the process. The head of the mission Dr Brigalia Bam - chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa - said in some African countries, it is the electoral commissions that announce the date of elections to avoid a situation where the ruling party only sets the date when it is convenient for it.

She said prescribing the date in the constitution may be problematic since it can become difficult to postpone elections when there are problems with preparations. She said that after arriving in the country a few days ago, they have had a briefing with the IEC, attended political rallies and met with civil society organisations. "Upon arrival, the mission began to acquaint itself with the electoral process and observed final stages of political campaigns by the various political parties ahead of the polls," Bam said.

She said they are satisfied with the preparations for the elections and they are confident that they will be free and fair. "The AU observer mission is convinced that there exist conducive and favourable conditions for the elections generally, and that sufficient preparatory work has been done to enable the people of Botswana to go to the polls and make their political choices based on free will," she said.

The oberver mission will be guided by the Principles Governing Democratic Elections that recognise the rule of law, maintenance and promotion of peace, security, stability and development. Among the key focus areas will be whether the elections are held under a democratic constitution and in compliance with supportive legal instruments and the separation of powers ensuring the independence of the judiciary to arbitrate in the event of disputes arising from the conduct of elections. The mission will find out whether the polls were conducted by an impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable electoral institution staffed by well trained and equipped personnel with adequate logistics.

The AU mission hinted that ferrying ballot boxes to counting centres is backward and nearly likened the exercise to a nightmare. It suggested that the electoral process needs to be reviewed to allow the counting to be done at polling stations.

The mission said it was satisfied with the reasons proffered to explain why students sitting exams and over 25,000 civil servants will not vote. It said is upon the political parties to do something about the problem. They said that operational hiccups could not be used to determine whether elections are free and fair. The mission will be in the country for a week after elections to observe the post voting mood and whether all stakeholders have accepted the results.