Martin Endjala & Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN)’s decision to maintain radio silence amid a crisis of their own making has compounded fears of a sham election.
Since Tuesday, the ECN has been unresponsive to questions from political parties and the media about logistics around the elections.
On Thursday, opposition political parties, led by Christine !Aochamus, the national secretary general of the Independent Patriots of Change (IPC), held a media conference at the ECN headquarters to express their frustration with the ECN’s silence regarding the issues on the ground.
“Why is ECN not speaking to us? Why is the ECN running away from us? Where is the chairperson of this commission and why is she not giving leadership and why are they not communicating to the people of Namibia to tell us how they messed up the election,” she said.
She stated that they are not going to sit back and allow ECN to tarnish the country’s reputation.
!Aochamus described the ECN’s incompetence and disorganisation.
According to her, ECN had five years to prepare for the general election, and she believes what is happening is unacceptable.
Shortages of ballot papers, long queues, and technical glitches were some of the issues reported on election day.
!Aochamus said they are not going to allow the ECN to abuse and disrespect them by ignoring their proposals.
The parties have demanded that ECN cease the counting of votes, stop voting and save the country’s democracy, as they do not know to what end the directive will end given the issues on the ground, and communicate what is happening.
“We are calling on every citizen that has been denied their right to cast their vote to come forward and let their political party know. Leadership knows how many of our people have been denied their right to participate,” she urged.
Meanwhile, United People’s Movement party acting secretary general Francis Huish said they will not accept the just-concluded election results as free and fair due to mistakes made by ECN following the inadequate polling stations in Rehoboth and other areas.
Huish blames the situation on a lack of communication and transparency from the commission, which failed to fulfil its promises.
UPM’s president, Jan Van Wyk, also accused the ECN of not listening to stakeholders’ concerns or proposals.
Van Wyk accused the ECN chief executive officer, Peter Shaama, of being unavailable when approached for queries, a situation he cited as cumbersome.
“This failure rendered many citizens unable to exercise their constitutional right to vote,” he said.
Freelance journalist Jonathan Beukes said the ECN’s decision to not communicate or communicate haphazardly, ineffectively and often after the fact is causing serious credibility damage to this election.
“Cancelling media conferences at the 11th hour not only looks terrible, it is also a clear sign that you are not willing, God forbid able, to do your jobs professionally, he said.
On Wednesday, the ECN cancelled the press briefing but held a public briefing on NBC.
“NBC is our national broadcaster,” said ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua on why NBC was the preferred mode of communication.
This decision did not sit well with the Namibia Media Professionals’ Union (NAMPU).
The union’s acting secretary general, Jemima Beukes, condemned the action of ECN, accusing it of evading accountability and undermining media freedom.
“NBC, as Namibia’s public broadcaster, has faced scrutiny for its perceived bias towards the ruling SWAPO party, raising serious concerns about its editorial independence. By excluding journalists from this important event, both the ECN and NBC are complicit in undermining democracy,” said Beukes.
On Thursday, the ECN held a press briefing, where it responded to questions from the media.
