Arid describes 2020 elections credible despite “glaring flaws” |09 November 2020

Mrs Sofola-Bristol addressing the gathering (Photo: Joena Meme)

In spite of glaring flaws observed in the 2020 elections, the Association for Rights Information and Democracy (Arid) local observer mission has declared the elections to have been credible.

This position was announced on Saturday during Arid’s presentation of its preliminary findings and recommendations.

It was a scarce audience on Saturday, save for ombudsman Nichole Tirant-Gherardi, chief electoral officer Manuella Amesbury, a representative of the US embassy and some members of Arid.

According to Arid, it observed the recent elections in conformity with regional, international instruments and the national legal framework for the conduct of elections notably the African Charter on Democracy, SADC charter among others.

Thirty-eight Arid observers were on the field between October 22- 24 to observe the election process in all stations, including the special stations and the outer islands. Their monitoring also included the campaign period, the transfer and securing of ballot papers to and from the Central Bank vaults, the media’s role in informing the public and post-election events.

One of the main deficiencies spotted by Arid during the election was the lack of uniformity in implementing the standards of procedures from one station to another.

Arid chairperson Lucianne Sofola-Bristol noted that the standard of procedures must be made clear to all elections officers especially in regards to which types of identity documents should be used.

Arid observed that although the Electoral Commission had insisted on the use of ID cards and passports only during its TV spots and adverts, the polling officials bent this rule to accommodate for other forms of identification.

Additionally, the local observer mission noted that affidavits were the order of the day in some stations when these should only be used as last resort.

“If someone opts to sell his ID cards in exchange for money, which is wrong, he is able to use another means to cast his vote. This is why we insist that everyone should speak the same language, and stick to the decision that was taken. If you accept for one person but not for another, then onlookers can say that the election was chaotic,” said Mrs Sofola.

Arid received a lot of complaints from the public including allegations of ‘dirty campaigning’ such as voters who were being paid to vote for a particular person or who faced intimidation.

“Arid got calls that clients of the Home for the Elderly were being coached on how and who to vote for, NIN cards were exchanged for money, people who did not apply for welfare assistance were asked to report to the office to collect money. There was allegation that money meant for SEED’s capital was being misused. To note that both parties – meaning LDS and US supporters – reported instances of harassment and intimidation,” stated the preliminary report.

The preliminary report placed particular emphasis on ensuring that voters with different disabilities are afforded the opportunity to exercise their right to vote as freely and secretly as possible, the next time around.

This includes recommendations to incoporate Braille on the ballot papers for the visually impaired, provisions such as ramps for those who are wheelchair bound, and use of sign language for the deaf in voter education spots and programmes.

Polling booths and the layout of the polling station was also an issue of contention, with Arid noting that some booths did not provide adequate privacy for voters and compromised the secrecy of votes.

In regards to gender parity, Arid acknowledged the high level of women participation especially as polling officers and assistants, and a good percentage of women as party agents.

But as much as women dominated and shone in many things, Arid believes that more should be done to encourage women to stand as candidates for presidency and they should be given more encouragement to do so.

As part of its recommendations, Arid is also urging the Electoral Commission to swiftly undertake boundary delimitation, noting that this has not been done since the late President Albert Rene was in power.

Other recommendations include:

• Use of population census to amend voter register so that electorates will vote where they reside
• Indelible markers should be used instead of ink to avoid spillage or over application on thumbs and ensure that whichever is used is not of poor quality.
• Improve queue management and proper sign line up.
• Training for all polling assistants and officers must not be limited to near election day.

• Election Commission needs to consider the introduction of new innovative ways in the electoral process from voters’ identification to transmission of results
• A post-election review report analysis has to be carried out by the EC to identify what worked well, what did not and why.

Arid expects to provide further recommendations in its final report, to be released in a couple of months.

Elsie Pointe