On 27 November 2024, Namibians exercised their right by casting their vote for their preferred presidential candidate as well as possible shortlisted parliamentarians. It was worth noting that the youth turned up and they were seen in those long queues that seems to be a future issue on the ECN table should they fail to introduce multiple polling stations in populated areas. The fact that the election was peaceful is indeed a frustrating process for politicians whose triumph merely depends on the voters. When a candidate triumph is decided by voters, it should remind politicians to always look back and serve as expected by voters, because failure to do so may backfire in the next election, as voters have a tendency to vote against the party or candidates who hardly fulfil their promises. However, party-elected leaders need to keep monitoring the performances of their entire team and use their office power to influence policies that are touching the lives of Namibians in a positive manner.

Continuously watching the elected team and effectively implementing the party manifestos is what Namibians are interested in, unlike mere talks that do not bear fruit. Therefore, elected leaders need not leave any room for personal gain but for the interest of the voters so that voters can develop a long-lasting trust.

On the other hand, this election revealed that most individuals were voting against unfulfilled promises such as employment creation, poverty eradication, access to land, and more. Thus, voters have high expectations from elected candidates to make things happen and move the country in the right direction. Voters from unserviced settlements were also party to this election, despite the lack of service delivery, and they did so due to the trust they have in their leaders, who in many cases ran away from them after the election. The election score also taught other politicians that being in public space spearheading demonstrations against burning issues affecting our people does not really guarantee them to be elected, and this may weaken activist-politicians efforts to continue fighting social ills affecting our people. The complaints from political parties’ representatives and their leaders against irregularities during the election raised more concern about the fairness of this election. What angered political leaders, and their representatives is nothing personal, but that was because some voters were denied their right to vote due to limited ballot papers and long queues, which many polling stations failed to serve before official closing time (21h00).

This frustration is totally making sense because those party leaders have invested more in their election campaigns to influence people to go and vote. However, the white elephant in the entire election process has just thwarted their plan. It is indeed a disturbing situation that may bring chaos if not handled in a professional manner and may possibly threaten our peace and stability that we have enjoyed since independence.

The question in our minds is whether the responsible institution to ensure fair elections is an independent institution or not. 

Others have indicated that there is no fair election when potential voters do not cast their vote due to mismanagement of the process. Therefore, it is very imperative to note that issues of this nature are not only threatening democracy, but they are sabotaging the efforts of those who want to see a thrilling nation led by fully elected leaders without favour. 

The fact that party leaders need to complain to get an additional two days to cater for the voters who were affected by the ballot paper shortage and long queues will just invite many irregularities. Calls to re-vote will be a burden to the responsible institution, but it must be done on condition that the Supreme Court will decide in favour of those that want a rematch should they provide evidence of irregularities. Based on the observations, leaders need to demonstrate fairness in their dealings and keep in mind that political tension is not a thing to play with.

*Tobias Nanhinda is a librarian at the Ministry of Gender Equality. The views in this article are merely his and not that of his employer.