Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Members of Namibia’s uniformed forces, diplomatic missions, and seagoing personnel will cast their votes on 13 November ahead of the national election date of 27 November.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) anticipates approximately 8 000 registered voters to cast their votes on Wednesday, the special vote day.
ECN Chairperson Elsie Nghikembua announced on Monday.
“During general registration of voters, the Commission registered 2 159 eligible voters at all 35 Namibia diplomatic missions. However, I should mention that there could be slight variations to this figure because Namibians who registered inside the country but find themselves outside the country on the special voting day will be allowed to vote, provided that such citizens will still be outside the country and therefore unable to vote inside the country on 27 November 2024,” she said.
Based on information from the security cluster and fishing companies, she expects an estimated 8 000 voters to cast their votes on November 13.
The commission has also requested that all 21 political parties involved in the elections submit and assign their election agents and counting agents, as mandated by the Electoral Act, to oversee the polling, counting, and announcement of the election results.
If a political party fails to present its election and counting agents, or if the assigned agents fail to show up, the process will still proceed as planned, as it does not invalidate the voting process.
“It is therefore very important for political parties to appoint election agents and counting agents in the best interest of our electoral democracy and the integrity of our electoral process. The election/counting agents are the eyes and ears of the political parties and their reports assist in validating the process and contribute greatly to the acceptance of election results,” said Nghikembwa.
She added that the Electoral Act requires the commission to provide an Occurrence Book (OB) for recording any incidents or complaints at a polling station.
In the event of any complaint by an election/counting agent or any person authorised by the commission to enter a polling station regarding voting on 13 November.
Such complaints should be recorded in the OB as required by the Electoral Act or channelled formally to the commission for consideration.
“The Commission therefore stands prepared to attend to any grievance that has the potential to impact the polling process, because the management of complaints has a great influence on how stakeholders accept the results of an election,” assured Nghikembwa.
