Lahja Nashuuta
Namibians living abroad are expected to cast their votes during the special voting exercise scheduled for tomorrow, 13 November 2024, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has announced.
Polling stations will open from 07h00 to 21h00 inside the country as well as at Namibian diplomatic missions abroad.
ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua said the special voting exercise is for all eligible voters who find themselves outside the country on 13 November, and who will not have the opportunity to vote in Namibia on 27 November 2024. The day further caters for seagoing personnel and members of the security cluster such as the Namibian Police Force (Nampol), Namibia Correctional Services and the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), who will be on duty on 27 November.
More than 2 159 eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at different Namibian embassies worldwide, while 8 000 voters from the security cluster and fishing institutions will vote locally.
Nghikembua clarified that the Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014, as amended, provides that special voting should take place 14 days before the national election day to provide an opportunity for the three categories of voters.
“This provision and all measures that are put in place should signify to everyone that every vote counts. Therefore, to our security officers who diligently uphold peace, law and order, as well as our seagoing personnel who endure long voyages far from home, this is your day to vote,” Nghikembua stated.
She assured the nation that the ECN had put in place adequate administrative and logistical measures to ensure successful special voting.
There are 33 polling stations set up in all 14 regions of the country, and 35 at Namibian diplomatic missions abroad.
Credible elections
She reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that the elections conducted tomorrow by special voters, and also those on 27 November, are free, fair and credible.
“We have dedicated substantial resources and planning to guarantee the integrity of these elections. Our commitment is unwavering: to uphold the trust that you, as citizens of our country, have placed in us to administer a transparent and impartial electoral process,” she continued.
The commission has also employed and deployed 307 polling officials, of whom 231 will be based locally, while 76 will manage tomorrow’s voting and counting process abroad.
She announced that for the national elections to be held on 27 November, the ECN had established 4 677 polling stations countrywide, comprising 1 621 fixed and 3 054 mobile stations.