WINDHOEK – The DTA of Namibia, along with the All People’s Party (APP) and Swanu, have joined the chorus of those voicing their displeasure with the provisional voters’ roll. They say the roll is unreadable, which in turn raises concern that the roll might have been manipulated. They are also unhappy with the short inspection period given. The two-week period to inspect the roll ends today, while the roll was made available on April 03.
DTA Secretary General Vinsent Kanyetu wrote to the Electoral Commission of Namibia Director of Elections Dr Paul Isaks on April 9 saying the list was made available in PDF format and it thus “disallows the information to be printed or transferred into a database”.
“By implication it is impossible to check the list electronically for duplicate names, concentration of voters or unusual voters such as those with no valid identity cards or passports with no age, that appears out of line (too young or too old),” said Kanyetu.
Late last week the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) Director of Elections, Nic Kruger, called a media briefing expressing serious concern about the provisional voters’ roll (PVR).
According to Kruger, an electronic copy of the PVR availed to all political parties prohibits information being printed or transferred onto a database as it was in a password-protected portable document format (PDF). By implication, he said, this made it impossible for the party to check the list electronically for double or multiple registrations; duplication of identity documents; number of voters staying at the same address; as well as unusual voters, such as those with no valid identification. “With the current format of the PVR the above checks will not be possible,” he said then.
This week APP President Ignatius Shixwameni lamented the short timeframe the parties were given to inspect the PVR and also decried the format in which it has been presented.
“The ECN cannot expect the political parties to inspect and peruse the voters’ roll in two weeks. It took them two months to register people, so it would just have been fair if the parties were at least given a month,” said Shixwameni, adding that it would be impossible for political parties to inspect 1.2 million registered voters in just two weeks.
Swanu President Usutuaije Maamberua also lamented the short timeframe and said he was yet to see the roll as “my staff members who must avail it to me are out of town”. “I am interested to see it but what can I do if it was given on a shirt notice. I will inspect the one in September,” said Maamberua.
Kanyetu said political parties and the ECN should have the mutual interest of a valid properly reviewed voters’ list, adding “the fact that ECN seems to be stalling is raising substantial concerns on their commitment to free and fair elections in the country.”
The voters’ register received heavy criticism from a local civil society organisation, Citizens for an Accountable and Transparent Society (CATS), which brandished the register as “rubbish” and accused the ECN of failing to rectify mistakes. “It is a voters’ roll that belongs in the bin. There is nothing in that bin that you can trust. It is horrible and I think the ECN needs to go back to the drawing board and go through the data to clean it up,” said CATS spokesperson Carola Engelbrecht.
ECN Acting Director of Elections and Director of Operations, Theo Mujoro, when contacted for comment said the PDF format is an internationally recognized standard security feature used as necessary precaution to protect electronic documents open to the public, against possible manipulation.
“As you may appreciate, the PVR is a very sensitive national document whose integrity is of utmost importance. In this regard, the ECN is charged with the responsibility of safeguarding the integrity of the provisional voters’ register at all times,” he said.
He also pointed out that the ECN has already fulfilled its legal obligations of availing the provisional register in hard copy format at designated places in all the 121 constituencies and 52 local authorities.
“Following requests from various political parties, the ECN went an extra mile to provide the provisional voters’ register in an electronic format,” he said.
• Additional reporting by Kuzeeko Tjitemisa
By Mathias Haufiku