Out of the 42 135 eligible voters, only 4 822 made it to the voting booth on Friday to decide the fate of the Moses //Garoëb constituency in the just-concluded by-election.
This represents a sharp decline when compared to the regional council election for the same constituency in 2020, which had 10 869 voters who turned up on election day.
A day before the election, Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) head Theo Mujoro expected a low voter turnout, something by-elections have come to be known for.
This trend continued on Friday, Mujoro acknowledged.
“Generally, there has been a drastic decline if you look at by-elections in recent years, particularly in the last three years. The same goes for regional councils and local authority elections. The turnout is quite poor,” he told New Era yesterday.
The ECN, he added, does not understand why voters show up in small numbers.
“We don’t know whether it’s a question of attitude on the part of the voters. Maybe the voters don’t see the importance of participating in by-elections generally or in the regional and local authority elections or maybe it’s a question of perception,” he said.
The low voter turnout is despite ECN’s civic education efforts and campaigns by political parties.
Mujoro said the ECN has done its part as mandated by law in terms of voter education.
The fact that the constituency is in an urban setting made it easier for ECN officials to provide civic and voter education.
“In as much as voter education is a legal mandate of the commission, we believe those contesting have a vested interest in the outcome of the by-election.”
The by-election was necessitated by the death of Swapo councillor Aili Venonya in October last year.
Mujoro said last week the by-election is taking place during the festive period and it is therefore possible that there may be registered voters of this constituency who may have travelled [outside Windhoek] at this time and who may not be back in the constituency in time to vote.
There were 23 rejected ballots in the election that saw Swapo’s Stefanus Ndengu emerge victorious with 2 970 votes.
“The ECN herewith congratulates the duly declared winner. The registered voters for the Moses //Garoëb constituency for the by-election were 42 135. This translates to a total voter turnout of 11.5%,” Mujoro said in a statement on Saturday.
Ndengu was followed in second place by Independent Patriots for Change’s Moses Mwandingi with 1 270 votes.
Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters’ Shinime Nakale came third with 267 votes.
Independent candidates Moses Hengombe and Ndalifilwa Hashoongo received 243 and 72 votes, respectively.
“The commission extends its gratitude to all the election officials, party agents, the Namibian Police, and the media for overseeing the conduct of a transparent and credible electoral process, as well as the maintenance of law and order… The ECN would like to thank all the voters that turned up at the various polling stations to cast their votes,” Mujoro added.
Meanwhile, Swapo vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah thanked their supporters for delivering the victory.
“I wish to acknowledge the residents of Moses //Garoëb constituency for exercising their right to vote in the just ended by-election. Voting is key to ensuring that democracy prevails… The people have spoken and the Swapo party will ensure the continuation of service delivery to the residents,” she said on her Twitter page on Saturday.
Nandi-Ndaitwah further urged her comrades, saying: “This is only the beginning and we are ready for future elections as a united Swapo ready to build a Namibia where all feel safe”.
During their campaigns, candidates promised to provide potable water and toilets, vocational training, jobs, an open market, a bus stop, and a fire station.
Prior to the election, New Era caught up with Ndengu, who was upbeat about his prospects.
“I am very excited that from a naked eye point of Swapo voters. They are back from the festive season and obviously, they will come and fulfil their democratic obligations. When I spoke to some of them here, they promised to make tomorrow a big day for Swapo. No fear of anything at all,” an upbeat Ndengu had said.
He was not reachable on his cell phone on Sunday.