The Chronicle
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS FC’s electoral court yesterday met candidates vying for the club’s vice-chairman and treasurer’s positions to spell out the polling process for tomorrow’s poll.
Fiso Siziba and Babongile Sikhonjwa are contesting the vice-chairman’s post, while Busani Mthombeni and Xolisani Moyo are in the treasurer’s race.
Chairman of the Bosso electoral court and former club chairman Peter Dube said the constitution will guide the voting process, adding that members should bring their membership and national identity cards to be allowed to cast their votes.
To avoid congestion, Dube said no vehicle will be allowed into the clubhouse premises other than those that will be on electoral duty.
Two verification points will be set up to plug electoral loopholes, with the first being at the gate, where members will gain access to the clubhouse premises in batches. The second point will be at the door to the ballot boxes.
“Our appeal to members is that they must come early. We met candidates and their agents today where we spelt out the processes for the day. Voting starts at 9am and we’ve been cleared to have our event for three hours.
“We agreed that each candidate will be allowed two agents. The procedures that we agreed on are meant to avoid crowding and congestion at entrances. What we all want is to have a credible voting process and that is why we’re saying qualification to voting is purely as per the Highlanders constitution,” said Dube.
According to Article 10.4 of the Highlanders constitution, each member shall be entitled to only one vote in respect of each contested position. In the event of a tie, the returning officer, in this case Dube, shall cast a deciding vote.
Only members with valid membership cards for at least 12 months will be allowed to cast their votes.
There were arguments in Bosso social media groups that bona fide members attached to other clubs should not be allowed to participate in the voting process.
Some were basing their argument on Article 4.4 of the constitution, which reads: “A member of the club shall not be at liberty to join another Premier League Club and shall automatically lose his or her membership should he or she become a card-carrying member of another Premier League Club.” In his response, Dube appealed to members to be ethical.
“Other clubs don’t have membership cards and one might argue that they are at work at the other club. That (denying members attached to other clubs to vote) can’t be challenged legally. That is a constitutional matter.
“Our appeal is for members to adhere to ethics; ask yourself if what I’m doing is the right thing. Is it to help Highlanders or not? Members shouldn’t take advantage of people by abusing the constitution.
This is not the time to argue about the constitution, but it is the time where we need to be highly ethical, have our electoral process going on smoothly and be credible.” – @ZililoR
Article Source: The Chronicle