Niël Terblanché
A full bench of justices of the High Court of Namibia dismissed the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters’ (NEFF) case against the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) on Thursday.
The NEFF had challenged the ECN’s decision to deregister the party, alleging procedural and substantive irregularities.
The judgment was delivered by Judges Hosea Angula, Orben Sibeya, and Beatrix de Jager, who found that the Electoral Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
The bench concluded that the NEFF’s application did not raise an electoral issue as defined under Section 168(1)(e) of the Electoral Act, which limits the court’s review jurisdiction to electoral matters.
The NEFF’s deregistration stemmed from alleged persistent non-compliance with the Electoral Act’s requirement to submit financial statements annually.
The ECN claimed that despite extensions granted for the submission of these statements, the NEFF failed to comply, leading to its deregistration on 17 June 2024.
In response, the NEFF argued that the ECN had granted a general extension for the submission of financial statements until 30 June 2024 and that the deregistration decision was made prematurely and without affording the party an opportunity to be heard.
The ECN disputed this, maintaining that proper procedures were followed.
The NEFF contended that the Electoral Court has the same wide-ranging powers as the High Court, as provided under Section 167(2) of the Electoral Act, and should therefore be able to hear their case.
The party further argued that the ECN’s decision contravened Section 152 of the Act, as the party was not given a chance to present its case before deregistration.
However, the ECN’s counsel argued that the Electoral Court’s jurisdiction for reviews is specifically limited to electoral issues under Section 168(1)(e) of the Act, and since the matter at hand did not pertain to an electoral issue, the court lacked jurisdiction.
In their ruling, the judges upheld the ECN’s point in limine, affirming that the court does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate on the NEFF’s application.
The justices reiterated that the powers of the Electoral Court are explicitly subject to the provisions of the Electoral Act, and thus, the court cannot extend its review jurisdiction beyond what is specified.
The court also noted that while the NEFF’s application was dismissed, this does not preclude the party from seeking redress through other appropriate legal avenues.
For further legal recourse, the NEFF may need to consider taking their grievances to a higher court or exploring other legal mechanisms to address their deregistration by the ECN.
No order as to costs was made, as both parties agreed not to pursue costs against each other.
As a result, the matter was struck off the court’s roll and deemed finalised.
