Stefanus Nashama
Political analyst, Sakaria Johannes has advised the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) to get its house in order to avoid losing credibility ahead of the November elections.
Johannes said this in an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Thursday, hours after the High Court declared the ECN’s decision to deregister the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) invalid.
“There will be public questions as to why ECN opened a case when it was not the option to go for. One would think the commission is used by political figures to cut the legs of opposition political parties that would grab votes due to their activism,” he said.
Johannes believes that the decision to deregister the NEFF was a calculated political move to delay the NEFF’s participation in the November elections.
He compared the matter to the previous issue of ECN failing to use EVMs with vilification papers, questioning the body’s full trust.
“Where had this passed them? Now the commission just opened a case, which it lost, showing that it might have failed to comply with the law, which is supposed to protect and exercise independently,” he said.
The NEFF deputy leader, Kalimbo Iipumbu, said they are back on the ballot.
“After an intense and prolonged legal process, the High Court of Namibia, presided over by Honourable Judge Thomas Masuku, has ruled in favour of our party, reinstating NEFF to its rightful place on the ballot box,” he said.
The High Court also ordered ECN to pay the legal costs.
NEFF and the Christian Democratic Voice (CDV) party were deregistered in June for reportedly failing to submit and publish their financial statements.
Both parties’ seats were withdrawn from the National Assembly upon their deregistration.
Despite this, Iipumbu insisted that political figures with a stake in ECN were pushing the deregistration narrative.
He said the party lost over N$450 000, which was meant to be used for the party’s activities.
According to Iipumbu, the court’s decision reinstates the party’s status and upholds the fundamental principles of justice, democracy, and the rule of law for the Namibian people.
“This is a victory for every Namibian who believes in fairness, transparency and democracy,” he reiterated. Our fight was never about reinstating the NEFF as a political party. It was a fight for the integrity of our democratic institutions and the constitutional rights of every Namibian,” he added.
He said that the case helped them realise that ECN is not their enemy but rather an institution with which the party should interact positively.
According to Iipumbu, NEFF did not deny complying with the ECN, contrary to what some media reported.
He noted that some other political parties only submitted and published their report after NEFF was removed from the ECN list.
“The issue was the timing. We had no total control over the auditing firms that audited our papers. We cannot also force them since we were to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability with our documents,” he said.
Iipumbu expressed his frustration and questioned why the ECN had violated the law by allowing Parliament to function without their seats.
He commended the judiciary for upholding the rule of law and delivering a judgement that genuinely reflected the spirit of justice.
“The High Court ruling has paved the way for us to continue our work, and we intend to honour this opportunity by redoubling our efforts to bring about the transformative change that our nation needs,” he said.
At the same time, Iipumbu urged those who had left the NEFF to return, following the correct channels established by the party.
“We are not going to force anyone to come back. For as long as they have interest in the party, we will not reject them,” he said.
The ECN spokesperson, De Wet Siluka, said the commission has learnt of the judgement delivered and orders granted but is still revising the reasons.
“The commission is busy studying the reasons contained in the 51-page judgement and will in due course pronounce its position on the ruling,” he said.
