Martin Endjala
The Namibian United Party (UNP) has described the just-concluded 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections as illegitimate.
In a statement issued recently, UNP chief servant, Amos Likuwa criticised the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), saying it had no valid reason to create a chaotic voting process given the time and resources at its disposal.
“Fellow Namibians, the ECN’s actions are undeniable, unbelievable, indescribable and unacceptable,” he said.
Likuwa claimed that the ECN was acting against the interests of many Namibians, denying and grossly violating citizens’ rights throughout the nation.
“The only question that lingers in my mind is how does ECN feel about it now, or is this its behaviour pattern and how they feel when they go to bed? Do they really fall asleep with high poverty levels and too much suffering amongst the masses?” he questioned.
Likuwa was referring to the extension of voting for two days after both the Landless People’s Movement party, Independent Patriots for Change and Popular Democratic Movement party President Mchenry called for an extension.
His remarks referred to the ECN’s decision to extend voting for two additional days after the Landless People’s Movement, Independent Patriots for Change, and Popular Democratic Movement called for the extension.
Political parties have since taken the ECN to court to demand an inspection of the ballot papers, with the Electoral Court ruling in their favour last week.
The UNP was among the 18 political parties that travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa, to observe the design, layout, production, printing, packaging, and delivery of the ballot papers.
The ECN printed 1.6 million ballot papers each for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, totalling 3.2 million, including contingency ballots.
Likuwa accused the ECN of misleading the nation about running out of ballot papers.
“As per the facts above, the United Namibians Party (UNP) is on record that the 2024 elections were not free, fair and credible, as such renders its final results illegitimate,” he stated.
When asked what the UNP hoped to achieve through the inspection of ballot papers, Likuwa stated that the outcome was hard to predict but emphasised that the party would make its position clear based on the results.
According to the party, the ECN’s actions have deprived many Namibians of their democratic right to vote, and we should not take such actions lightly.
Political analyst, Erika Thomas expressed scepticism about the stance taken by political parties, arguing that they were part of the same system they are now challenging.
“These events are a lesson for the incoming parliamentarians to amend and help make ECN better,” she said.
Thomas emphasised the need for lessons to be learnt, suggesting that incoming parliamentarians should focus on amending laws to improve the ECN’s functioning.
“The same people pointing fingers at others are the same people who also have their flaws but don’t get challenged. There is a saying, “When you point fingers at others, how many fingers are facing you?” she said.
Thomas also questioned the timing of the accusations, stating, “Why now? This begs the question of whether the elections were truly illegitimate.”
Political analyst, Henning Melber noted the irregularities during the elections but emphasised that the court must decide whether they were significant enough to declare the results invalid.
“But I share concerns on the following, much more principled matters: the decision taken to extend the voting by two additional days was clearly beyond the mandate and authority vested in the president, especially since no opposition parties were consulted and involved in such a decision,” he said.
He criticised the decision to extend voting by two days without consulting opposition parties, saying this went beyond the mandate of the president and raised concerns about fairness.
“The selective reopening of voting stations also adds to the problem. If all stations had been reopened for the same period, it would have been an equal approach. Instead, known Swapo strongholds were favoured, while other regions were denied the same opportunity,” he said.
Melber added that the inspection of ballot papers would provide numerical evidence of how the additional two days impacted the final results.
According to him, while the legality of the election rests with the court, the ECN requires a complete overhaul.
“The ECN betrayed the electorate and democracy. Anyone seeking excuses and justifications undermines Namibia’s democracy,” he said.
