Selebi-Phikwe — Party representatives have called for a halt to early registration of voters to avoid objections that lead to apathy.

Speaking at a workshop to evaluate the last general elections, the representatives said voter registration should be as close to the polling as possible. They said the first registration for this year's general elections was in 2007 and after this there had been a lot of movement and relocation by voters. "We even tend to forget that we had registered and we end up being rejected in the voters' rolls for registering more than once and this is the reason why there are so many cases in court during elections," one of the participants said.

Another called for agents of political parties to be posted at voter registration stations to guard against any malice by registration officers. The participants said the electoral process is good but it is being tarnished by some parties who explore it for personal gains. They requested that the law must be reviewed to bar those who have been arraigned in court during objections from voting. They indicated that under the current arrangement, such voters are free to register during supplementary registration and vote.

The participants said voter transfers confuse the election process. They suggested that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) should thoroughly vet those requesting transfers. Those seeking transfer should also provide valid reasons for moving to avoid voter trafficking. The participants said election registration is being abused by politicians and the IEC must seriously look into voter trafficking. They threatened to take the law into their own hands by mounting road-blocks to trap vote traffickers. One participant cited an incident where 16 people were registered as residents of a plot that has one two-bed-roomed house. Participants said voter trafficking is the main reason why the October elections were full of surprises. They called for serious penalties against candidates implicated in trafficking of voters. Participants urged IEC to consider reducing the number of elderly people engaged as presiding officers and polling agents as their physical fitness and social status does not allow them to withstand the hectic election work. They emphasised that the process needs young and energetic people who can stay awake and active the whole night.

They called for the day of elections to be an official holiday in the calendar to avoid conflicts with employers. "IEC is independent as such we expect it to be responsible for setting the date of elections and not to wait for anybody to announce it," a participant said. Others applauded the fact that political parties cooperate during elections and there are no conflicts. The workshop was meant to solicit views from voters on the conduct of the October 16 general elections. It was mainly attended by members of opposition parties.