Justicia Shipena
No results from today’s special voting for the local and regional authority elections will be counted or released.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) chief electoral and referenda officer Peter Shaama said all ballots cast today will remain sealed until voting closes on the main election day, 26 November.
“In accordance with the procedures governing special voting, no counting of votes will take place immediately after the close of the poll on 24 November 2025,” Shaama said on Saturday.
He added that special votes are sealed in authorisation envelopes and will only be opened and counted together with all the other ballots on Wednesday.
Today’s special voting is for election officials and police officers who will be deployed outside their constituencies on 26 November.
Voting opens at 09h00 and will close at 19h00 at designated polling stations.
The ECN said the process follows strict steps, and voters must present written authorisation and appear on the approved list.
After marking their ballots, they place them in blank envelopes.
Returning officers then seal them inside authorisation envelopes. The envelopes are stored in ballot boxes and kept at police stations until counting begins after the main election.
Shaama said political parties, organisations and independent candidates may attach their own seals to the ballot boxes.
In an update on election readiness on the same day, the ECN said preparations for Wednesday’s regional and local authority elections are complete.
The final voters’ register, containing 1.49 million registered voters, was released on 24 October and will also be used for special voting.
ECN added that ballot production was finalised after earlier discrepancies were corrected and fresh ballot papers were delivered on 18 November.
The commission said sensitive election materials have been dispatched to all regions under police escort.
The commission has deployed 21 000 polling officials and established 4 861 polling stations nationwide.
Polls on 26 November will open at 07h00 and close at 21h00. ECN said counting will take place immediately at each polling station in front of accredited agents, after which results will be sent to constituency and local authority collation centres and then to the Central Election Results Centre.
The ECN said it has worked with the Namibian Police to put all necessary arrangements in place to safeguard staff, voters, election materials and equipment before, during and after the elections.
In this vein, two police officers will be assigned to each polling team to ensure the safety of officials and maintain order throughout the voting process.
Shaama encouraged voters to understand the procedures and take part peacefully in the elections.
