Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has declared its intent to challenge the results of Namibia’s recent Presidential and National Assembly elections, citing a series of irregularities.
Christine Aochamus, the party’s secretary general, confirmed the decision during an interview on South Africa’s Newsroom Africa channel on Sunday.
According to Aochamus, the IPC plans to file a legal challenge aimed at nullifying the entire election process, regardless of the outcome.
“The decision stands. We are aiming for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) to completely announce the full results of this poll. Once done, we will approach the courts to make sure the election is nullified,” Aochamus stated.
According to Aochamus, the IPC believes that the election process was fundamentally flawed and irrespective of the outcome, it cannot stand.
“We cannot benefit from a flawed process, whether it is in our favour or our opponents’. We need to nullify the election and start fresh to restore democracy,” she explained.
The IPC’s decision to contest the results is based on several alleged irregularities. Aochamus cited claims of voter suppression, including reports of voters being turned away and mobile polling stations failing to appear.
“There are discrepancies in the provisional results, missing ballot books, and unescorted ballot box transfers,” she explained, asserting that these irregularities had compromised the legitimacy of the voting process.
Additionally, the IPC is challenging the legality of the two-day extension granted to the election.
Aochamus argued that the ECN’s chief electoral and referenda officer lacked the authority to amend the proclamation for November 26th and 27th to accommodate the extra days.
The party has collected numerous affidavits and witness statements from polling stations to support its case.
“The law requires material evidence showing a significant effect on the election outcome. If 100 000 Namibians were denied the right to vote, that would significantly affect the results,” Achema said. “This could alter the distribution of seats in the National Assembly, which is critical for the legislative process,” she said.
Despite the challenges, Aochamus expressed confidence that the IPC’s legal challenge would succeed.
“Our current challenge is to nullify the elections entirely. In 2019, the challenge was about the need for a paper trail for electronic voting, not to nullify the elections. This time, we are seeking to annul the entire election,” she said.
The ECN has completed the tally for 112 constituencies for the National Assembly election and 111 constituencies for the presidential election.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and the SWAPO party lead the results so far, with IPC leader Panduleni Itula and the IPC in second place.
Election observers, including the Southern Africa Human Rights Lawyers (SAHRL-EOM) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM), have also raised concerns about flaws in the electoral process.
These groups have called for the nullification of the election results and criticized logistical errors and alleged corruption.
Talent Rusere, the head of SAHRL-EOM, brought attention to issues like ballot shortages and delayed polling station openings during the election.
Anne Makinda, head of SEOM, called for a crisis management framework to address these failures in future elections, while the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF-SADC) recommended new legislation to expedite the handling of election-related court cases to ensure swift resolutions.
