First I want to thank Balilima-chirwa for rejecting Eric Molale at the recent by-election. Having been a civil servant under Eric Molale, I fully agree with BOFEPUSU who have labelled him an enemy of the workers. I feel partly avanged.
All that I am now looking forward to is the same fate befalling that *&%$£^ in Australia if and when he tries his luck at the polls!
Reading the newspapers, I realise that some people are now questioning the "capability" of the Independent Electrol Commission to conduct timely counting of ballots. Some columnists are now calling for electronic voting as a way of "speeding up" vote counting.
My take on this is that the "Independent Electoral Commission" secretariat will never be truly impartial (non partisan) as long as civil servants are allowed to become members of political parties. I have never been able to understand why a worker who expects not to be fired from employment should a certain party lose elections, would consider it "ethical" to openly declare his/her partisanship by applying for membership of a political party.
I am not faulting civil servants for having partisan political preferences. Like every other citizen, they are politically concious animals. What I am saying is that civil servants owe it to the nation (their employer) not to be seen to be exercising their responsibilties in a politically partial way; what better way of showing partiality than applying to join one political party.
Imagine that you are the ruling party, and a vacancy exists at the Independent Electoral Commission secretariat. Wouldn't you be tempted to employ one of your own members, to the exclusion of those of opposition political parties for such a "sensitive" position? Of course you would. If you succumb to the temptation, the IEC will most likely be manned not by the most capable workers, but by the most partial and partisan opportunists. In fact the whole civil service will gravitate towards the most inefficient workforce, because any opportunist who fancies being a permanent secretary (high pay) will opt to follow the easy way towards that objective - get a ruling party card, and you are home and dry!
Under the current civil service rules, where civil servants are allowed to be members of political parties, it is illogical to assume that the Independent Electoral Commission secretariat could be truly impartial. A member of a political party usualy swears to protect the interests of that party. If he/she doesn't, then what is the point of becoming a member in the first place?
Following from the above, it should be clear that Political parties, especially the opposition ones owe it to their members and supporters to keep a very close watch on what the Independent Electoral Commission secretariat does before, during and (especially) after an election. There is nothing inherently wrong with manual counting of ballots for a population of two million people. What presents itself as a challenge is the insistence that counting officers should take a break! In a country where people are hurling insults at South Africa for failing to open her borders 24 hours a day, why is it so difficult to count the ballots without a break? Why is it not a problem to work around the clock in Jwaneng, Orapa, clinics etc? In my view there should be relieving teams at the counting of votes. In the same way that a cashier in a shop cashes in her take for the day, seals it, hands it in, and is replaced by another cashier, so also a counting crew can be relieved by another.
What is crucial is that COUNTING SHOULD BE CONDUCTED AT THE ELECTION POINT, THE RESULTS VERIFIED AND PUBLISHED BEFORE ANY BALLOT BOXES CAN BE MOVED
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