Martin Endjala
Paulus Mbangu, a National Council member of parliament, says the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) needs to do away with voter cards that expire.
He said that numerous unnecessary expenses, such as expiring cards, continue to constrain the ECN budget.
“This issue of having voter cards that expire must come to an end. Why should they expire when the person has already qualified to vote? Why should that power expire?” said Mbangu.
According to him, it makes no sense whatsoever, Mbangu is adamant that voter cards must remain permanently valid.
Mbangu stated that only in special scenarios should a new voter card be issued when a person changes constituencies.
His argument stems from the fact that if a person has been residing within a specific region, town, or village for many years, he does not see the need to reapply for a card again.
Mbangu added that ECN should make cards that are for life, as this will minimise the cost involved.
He explained that countries like Nigeria and South Africa have adopted such a system, arguing that Namibia is no exception and should move with time.
Questions sent to ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka on the matter proved futile at the time of publication.
The secretary general of the National Unity Democratic Organization (NUDO) and member of parliament Joseph Kauandenge support the issuance of lifelong voter cards.
“Indeed, I agree that this exercise of issuing new voter cards every 10 years is not cost-effective at all.
Benchmarking with other established democracies around the world reveals that they have also eliminated this exercise, limiting it to changes in residence or constituency, and only for individuals turning 18 years old,” the parliamentarian stated.
He said this exercise of complete registration of all eligible voters every ten years is a waste of resources at best and is also prone to contributing to voter apathy as many will also stay away from registering as new voters.
