SWAKOPMUND – Inhabitants of the Erongo Region, especially those living in informal settlements such as the DRC are appealing to lawmakers to amend the Electoral Act.
According to a concerned of inhabitants amending the existing registration requirements will allow all Namibians to vote in the upcoming local and regional elections later this year, because the current requirements will decrease the number of voters, especially in the local authority elections. The urgent call was made during a public meeting held by the Electoral Commission of Namibia and local leaders to explain the election process to coastal residents, as well as to iron out difficulties pertaining to the registration process in the region. Many people are particularly concerned that they will not be able to participate in the upcoming local authority elections due to strict registration requirements. They are worried that they will not be able to elect true leaders and this would negatively impact the development of their towns and constituencies. During the meeting they singled out the stipulation that requires potential voters to be in possession of a 12-month old water or electricity bill or a telephone bill to be able to register for local authority elections. This has now become a serious issue for DRC residents in Swakopmund who use pre-paid water systems. The requirement resulted in close to 60 DRC residents not being allowed to register last week as they were told to come back with the required documents.
DRC residents told New Era they fear that they will not have no say in the development of their settlement if it so happens that they cannot vote.. “But it must be understood that there is nothing ECN can do. We are guided by the Electoral Act and we cannot change it. We are only executing what the Act requires us to do. We do not make the laws as our lawmakers make these laws,” he explained. “All that we can do is take the concerns of the people to the National Assembly,” he explained. He sketched a scenario whereby a letter is issued by the Swakopmund municipality to some DRC residents to indicate they have been residing in DRC for more that 12 months. “However this document was issued last week only and not 12 months ago. Even though the document confirms residency of the DRC resident it cannot be accepted, as it is not one of the documents required by the ECN to allow them to vote,” he explained. In order to register as a voter one must be 18 years or older. Moreover, one must produce a Namibian identity card or the old identity card or a valid passport and a person can also register with a citizenship certificate. Voters can also register by producing a Namibian birth certificate and a valid driver’s license or a Namibian birth certificate and two registered voters can vouch for them.
By Eveline de Klerk