Lahja Nashuuta
Leaders of the Affirmative Repositioning, Rally for Democracy and Progress as well as the Popular Democratic Movement are all calling for a rerun of the just-concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The three parties have described the elections as deeply flawed, citing logistical problems, a three-day voting extension at selected polling sites, and a shortage of ballot papers at other polling stations.
RDP president Mike Kavekotora and PDM’s secretary general Manuel Ngarigombe yesterday maintained their stance not to recognise the outcomes of the elections, saying the process was not free and fair.
Kavekotora claims that it fell short of acceptable democratic standards.
Meanwhile, AR leader Job Amupanda has declared the elections as neither free nor fair.
He demands a rerun of the entire elections.
“We maintain our position that this elections were not free and fair, and it was corrupt. These people are paid with taxpayers’ money, so we will not surrender the ECN to these criminals. We will not surrender our country,” said the activist-cum-politician.
PDM came third with 55 412 votes (4.97%), while Amupanda’s AR finished fourth with 19 676 presidential votes, which was about 1.77%.
“We are in a battle. This is a fight for us. Of course, we hope that a rerun is the best option for Namibia. We don’t even have to convince anybody about this elections. A [re-run] is the best decision… I would have thought everyone would believe that this is a sham election,” he added.
Kavekotora said his party will not recognise nor accept the elections’ outcome.
“The pronouncement by ECN was quite clear that it is a strategy because, according to the information that we received, there was no reason for any polling station to run out of ballot papers. There was no justification whatsoever. It was a strategy that fits into the Swapo strategy. It was chaotic. Some polling stations were instructed not to count after 21h00, while others were informed to close. Others were informed not to close. There was no justification for the election to be extended illegally for another two days,” he maintained.
Ngarigombe said: “The outcome of this result is not free, fair or credible. We will not reach any national standards of how elections should be conducted in democratic countries if this is left unchallenged. We are looking for a legal remedy for this election, and we will be sure that they are out. Therefore, we are not part of what the ECN announced on Tuesday,” he said.
He revealed that PDM wants an election rerun, as he termed the current one as “null and void”.
“These elections should be declared null and void. We demand a fresh election. ECN had already indicated that they do not have finances for a rerun, but the saying goes that ‘democracy is very expensive’. If you mess with it, you should pay an expensive price,” Ngarigombe stated.
Throughout the elections, the ECN has been adamant that the burden of proof lies on those contesting the process. From the commission’s vantage, the elections were beyond reproach.
“The ECN monitored the voting that took place in the country. We are satisfied that such voting was conducted in an environment where the voters were free to elect candidates and political parties of their choice without fear, favour and/or intimidation. We are confident that the results… reflect the democratic will of the voters. The commission, therefore, declares this as a free, fair and credible election that has met legal requirements of the law and international best practices,” ECN chairperson Nghikembua said.