The Tonse Alliance has noted the statement by ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Mr. Brown Kasaro that removing the date stamp/official mark on ballot papers will reduce spoiled ballots and will not affect security features.
We respectfully disagree.
The date stamp is a critical ballot authentication safeguard. It provides simple, visible, and verifiable proof that a ballot paper was officially issued by the Commission. Its importance cannot be measured against the relatively small percentage of spoiled ballots recorded in previous elections.
Spoiled ballots are addressed through voter education, improved training of poll staff, and clearer instructions—not by weakening security layers. Electoral integrity must always outweigh administrative convenience.
Even a minor reduction in ballot security can create major doubts in tightly contested elections. Public confidence depends not only on results, but on visible safeguards.
Therefore, Tonse Alliance would like to condemn ECZ for attempting to compromise our election integrity and credibility by proposing to remove the ECZ date stamp and official mark on ballot papers. With the Presidential and General Elections coming up this August, this move is both suspicious, controversial and provocative to all stakeholders and must be opposed and stopped.
Hence, we strongly appeal to ECZ to retain the standard date stamp and official marks on the ballot as it has been all along. As we are all aware, the electoral process is what will protect the electoral results.