Sekewa: Appoint four commissioners in next election

THE unfolding fiasco relating to the common roll in the 2012 elections has elicited a call from one candidate in the national capital to have the incoming government appoint not one, but four electoral commissioners.
Candidate Jacob Sekewa told The National yesterday that with an expanded population, the current commissioner was “simply swamped and paralysed with the sheer scope of the work required”.
Sekewa said if the government appoints different commissioners for the four regions of the country they would deliver elections where all eligible voters were given a chance to decide who was to represent them in Parliament.
“In that way, the area of responsibility is smaller and each commissioner can concentrate his or her energies on a smaller area.”
“Competition on how well each regional office works would also provide an added quality dimension,” he added.
He also said the national government ought to make budget allocations over five-year periods and park the funds in a special trust account so that it does not have to rush in the fifth year looking for funds.
 Sekewa also expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the common roll has been compiled and in private companies’ responses to the election.
He said common roll compilation in towns had not been consistent. Instead of moving by section and lot numbers through street by street, common roll enumerators have been going around haphazardly taking names of people in settlements and on street corners.
This behaviour by roll recorders and the unchecked movement of people and growth of settlements have compromised the accuracy of the roll, Sekewa said.
He had some harsh words for companies as well, whom he said, either did not release their workforce or gave them such little time that they had to return.
“The work force are the educated people who can make informed decisions,” he said. “If they are not released to vote then the choice of who gets to parliament is left in the hands of uneducated people. That can make a lot of difference.”
“And when there are poor decisions coming out of Parliament it impacts businesses and employers are the first to cry out. They must realise they are at fault also,” he said.