Allexer Namundjembo
Regional governors who will be going to the National Assembly will not be required to resign until they are sworn in as new members of parliament on 21 March.
Governors going to parliament are Sirrka Ausiku of Kavango West, Salomon April of Hardap and Marius Sheya of Kunene regions.
The spokesperson of the Namibian Presidency, Alfredo Hengari, on Monday told the Windhoek Observer that regional governors are appointed in their positions and they are not expected to resign.
“Governors are politically appointed and they do not need to resign to take up their parliamentary duties,” Hengari said.
He also added that, upon being sworn in, the newly sworn in President will then be responsible for appointing new governors.
“It is for President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to make the decisions regarding the appointments of governors,” Hengari said.
Resignations are expected from regional councillors who will also be serving in office until 20 March.
According to the amended Electoral Act of 2024, they would be deemed to have resigned on the day before the commencement of the term of office of the National Assembly.
Only civil servants are required to resign from their position within seven days after the results of the election are announced.
Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) spokesperson, Imms Nashinge, who is a civil servant, has resigned from his position.
He has also confirmed that members of his party have complied with the act.
He said only those in the private sector have yet to resign.
“The act that requires elected members to resign is not an IPC act. It is a government act, and we have to comply,” he said.
The Windhoek Observer understands that Affirmative Repositioning regarding Ilse Keister, who has been removed from the party’s parliamentary list because she stands to have her salary cut if she becomes a parliamentarian.
Keister is employed as a senior manager at the Social Security Commission (SSC).
Efforts to obtain an update from Affirmative Repositioning regarding Ilse Keister were unsuccessful.
The head of Legal Affairs at AR did not respond to the questions sent to him after spokesperson George Kambala referred the Windhoek Observer to Maitjituavi Kavetu, the head of Legal Affairs.
Earlier this year, George Simataa, the Secretary to Cabinet, directed executive directors and chief regional officers to ensure that public servants elected in the 2024 National Assembly elections resign from their positions.
In a notice issued, Simataa emphasised that these resignations should take effect from the date of their official election announcement.
This directive is in line with the Electoral Act, which mandates that civil servants elected to the National Assembly must step down from their roles.
The circular further states that any public servant elected to parliament is considered to have resigned from their position as of the election result announcement.
Those who continue working after being elected will be required to return any salaries earned since the announcement.
The ECN’s spokesperson, De Wet Siluka, has said that the commission is prepared to conduct by-elections after councillors, who are serving in the local authorities or as regional councillors, are sworn in as members of parliament.
