Allexer Namundjembo
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) has urged the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) to strengthen its staff to avoid errors that undermine trust in the electoral system.
PDM secretary-general Manuel Ngaringombe said the recent error made during the Rundu local authority election should not have happened.
“It is not something that anyone expects, that an error of that kind should occur,” he said.
This comes after the ECN admitted it made a seat allocation error in the Rundu election and has now launched an urgent self-review application in the Electoral Court.
The commission said one seat was wrongly awarded after the election, which took place last week.
ECN said it detected the mistake soon after the results were announced and is asking the court to set aside the incorrect declaration and replace it with the accurate outcome.
The error occurred when the returning officer allocated the final of the seven council seats to the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) instead of the Rundu Urban Community Association.
Ngaringombe welcomed the ECN’s decision to take responsibility.
“It is a good thing that the ECN accepted the error and owned up to it. At least when one makes a mistake, accepting it and finding a way to rectify it should be recommended. We hope that the Electoral Court will rule on the matter very soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Landless People’s Movement, in a letter issued on Wednesday by spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa, called for accountability and restructuring at the ECN.
“We cannot continue allowing our democracy to be managed by ECN the way it is managed and without a manner of accountability. This election was not free nor fair nor credible,” he said.
Simataa said the country faces a political crossroads.
“At best we continue to allow a very negligent commission to continue operating with zero accountability. At worst, we have a commission that is captured by the liberation party and does not care to even be discreet in its collaboration.”
The ECN recently urged unsuccessful candidates in the regional and local authority elections to respect the will of the voters, saying the outcome reflects the choices made by Namibians.
