KEETMANSHOOP— //Kharas regional council chairperson Jan Scholtz said the daily administrative and political functioning of the Keetmanshoop Urban constituency office has not been hampered since the death of councillor Maxie Minnaar.
“The control administrative officer, under supervision of the chief regional officer, are as per his job description in charge of the administrative affairs pertaining to the constituency whilst any political issues will be brought under my office’s attention by the CRO,’’ the chairperson explained.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) opted not to conduct a by-election for the vacant Keetmanshoop Urban constituency councillor position. Chief electoral and referenda officer for ECN Theo Mujoro explained that considering the economic upheavals in the country, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, it would not be prudent to conduct a by-election just a few days before the regional council election.
The article further reads Mujoro reasoning that technically, it would imply ECN has to conduct two elections around the same time to fill the same vacancy in the same constituency.
He continued that by conducting the by-election a few days before the one of the regional council, it would present a dilemma in the sense that the would-be councillor will only serve for two-and-a-half weeks, which will lead to an absurdity.
The Regional Councils Act, no. 22/1992 (as amended), states that if a vacancy occurs in a particular constituency, the ECN is obliged in terms of the law to conduct a by-election within 90 days from the date the vacancy occurred.
The Electoral Act, no.5/2014, furthermore allows for the holding of such by-election. – sklukowski@nepc.com.na