Patience Makwele
Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) chairperson Gerson Sindano has called for elections to be conducted fairly, transparently and without fear or favour, as the commission seeks to strengthen its capacity to manage risks that could affect the electoralthe process.
Sindano made call on Monday during the opening of a three-day Risk Management and Electoral Resilience training workshop at the NamPower Convention Centre in Windhoek, where he said electoral integrity was essential to public trust, citizen participation and social cohesion.
“It is our collective duty and responsibility to ensure that elections are conducted fairly, transparently, and inclusively, and without fear or favour,” he said.
His remarks come in light of challenges recorded during Namibia’s 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections, when some polling stations experienced ballot-paper shortages, voter-verification equipment problems and difficulties involving mobile polling teams.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observation Mission also raised concerns about unequal coverage of political parties in state-owned media during the election period.
Namibia’s Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014 requires the ECN to manage elections fairly and impartially, without fear, favour or prejudice.
It further provides that the commission must perform its duties independently of direction or interference by any authority or person.
The training is organised by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), in collaboration with India’s International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).
Sindano said the programme presented an opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of risks affecting elections and develop strategies to respond to them.
He encouraged participants to share their experiences and learn from one another, saying their different perspectives and expertise could help build stronger electoral systems.
Sanjay Sharma, Associate Professor and Head of the Centre for Research and Innovation at IIIDEM, said election authorities needed to identify potential problems before they disrupted the electoral process.
“One lesson stands out. Most risks are not dramatic. They are ordinary things: a delay in materials, a gap in training, a message not explained clearly to the public. But ordinary risks, if ignored, can become serious problems,” Sharma said.
He said India’s Election Commission had documented its experience in a 2023 Manual on Electoral Risk Management, examining risks before, during and after elections and suggesting ways of addressing them.
Sharma said managing risks was not enough without preparing electoral bodies to continue operating when problems occurred.
“Managing risk means trying to stop problems before they happen. Resilience means being ready when a problem does happen, so the election continues smoothly and people keep their trust in the process,” he said.
The three-day workshop will focus on building a common understanding of electoral risks, identifying those most relevant to Namibia and agreeing on practical steps to address them.
Sindano said the ECN had an existing cooperation agreement with International IDEA through the ministry of international relations and trade.
He also said the commission signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s Election Commission in January 2026, following which commissioners, management and staff benefited from five capacity-building training sessions through IIIDEM.
