WINDHOEK – The Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab, says the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) will be holding local authority elections at Otjinene and Bukalo this year, in addition to the national general elections slated for November this year.
The two localities are newly proclaimed local authorities. Gurirab made the announcement while motivating the ECN budget in parliament on Monday. Gurirab also revealed that during the course of 2014/15 financial year, the ECN will hold any by-election that may emerge in case of a vacancy as a result of the registration or death of any of the councillors of any regional council. He congratulated the electoral body for successfully conducting the third general voter registration exercise on March 3, with over one million people registered both in Namibia and abroad.
In terms of the provision of section 49 (2) of the Electoral Act, 1992 (Act No.24 of 1992) as amended, the ECN is mandated to hold elections be they national, regional or local authority or by-elections and to ensure good governance and the consolidation of democracy in Namibia. The ECN has requested N$374 million to carry out its mandate during the 2014/15 financial year. According to Gurirab the ECN has three crucial programmes under its budget, namely voter education and information dissemination, administration of elections and supervision and support services. Such programmes he noted will help the ECN to increase awareness of the democratic process, ensure transparent, free, fair and credible elections and also ensure participation in the electoral process.
Under the voter education and information dissemination programme and the envisaged introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), extensive advertising activities will be conducted, including a campaign to educate voters about EVMs and their use, according to the speaker.
“The voter education campaign will complement the introduction EVMs to help give required information to the public in order to make the public aware of the EVMs, as well as to do away with misconceptions about the machines that some people may have, since effective advertising campaigns will provide maximum awareness of the EVMs and elections,” the speaker motivated.
The EVMs are intended to replace the use of a paperwork-based system during the forthcoming national elections and any proceeding or subsequent elections. Under the voter education and information dissemination programme an amount of N$82.6 million is needed. Also, an amount of N$211.3 million has been requested for the administration of this year’s elections, while the supervision and support services programme requires a budget of N$80.8 million.
By Albertina Nakale