Niël Terblanché
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced the disqualification of three presidential hopefuls in the upcoming Presidential and National Assembly Elections scheduled for 27 November.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the ECN said the disqualified candidates are Ally Angula, Else Ndapandula Chen, and Jeremia Kaambo.
The Commission cited non-compliance with the nomination requirements outlined in the Electoral Act (Act 5 of 2014), particularly regarding the collection of registered voters’ signatures.
In accordance with section 75(3)(b) of the Electoral Act, the public nomination process, which commenced at 09h00 on the 17th of October, officially closed at 11h00.
“After a thorough review of the documents submitted by the presidential candidates, the Commission found that the nominations of Angula, Chen, and Kaambo did not meet the stringent legal requirements,” the statement reads.
According to the Commission, Angula’s nomination was rejected due to insufficient support from registered voters in Namibia’s 14 regions.
Although she had gathered 5 653 confirmed registered supporters, her candidacy fell short of the requisite 500 signatures per region in eight regions.
This failure to secure the necessary voter endorsements rendered her nomination non-compliant with section 72(c)(ii) of the Electoral Act.
Chen, another presidential hopeful, faced disqualification for similar reasons.
Her nomination was not supported by the required 500 registered voters per region, and none of the regions reached the necessary threshold.
Additionally, the ECN observed irregularities in her nomination documents, with some declarations of support marked as “Not Applicable” where voter signatures should have been affixed.
“The Commission attempted to seek clarification from Chen on the matter, but no response was received, leading to the rejection of her nomination,” the statement reads
Kaambo’s disqualification stemmed from a mismatch in signatures.
The signature on his nomination form did not correspond with the one provided on his voter registration application.
Kaambo was also unable to gather the requisite number of supporting signatures in any region.
Although he expressed his dissatisfaction with the process via email, the issues raised remained unresolved, resulting in his disqualification.
Despite these disqualifications, the ECN has confirmed the successful nominations of 15 other presidential candidates who met the requirements under section 73 of the Electoral Act.
These candidates include prominent figures such as Erastus Shuumbwa of the Action Democratic Movement, Job Shipululo Amupanda of Affirmative Repositioning, and Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the Swapo Party of Namibia.
The ECN said in its statement that the full list of presidential candidates will be published in the Government Gazette as stipulated by the Electoral Act.
The ECN extended its gratitude to all participating candidates, political parties, and representatives involved in the nomination process.
The Commission also announced that the party lists for the National Assembly Elections would be published in due course, listing parties such as the Popular Democratic Movement, the Landless People’s Movement, and the United Democratic Front of Namibia.
