RUNDU – The Swapo regional coordinator for Kavango East, Johanna Kandjimi, says more electronic voting machines (EVMs) for voters’ education are needed as national elections draw closer.
She said many potential voters in different constituencies of Kavango East still have not received education on EVMs because the region has only three teams from the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) showing voters how to use the machines for voting in November.
“There are three teams doing voter and thus don’t reach all the people, as they also move to different points every time, and many people in the villages don’t know what the machines look like.”
Kandjimi said her sentiments are shared by various people from different constituencies.
“We are being asked about voter education regarding the use of EVMs and many claim not to know what the machines look like. How will they be able to use it to vote?” inquired the regional coordinator.
She added that if the ECN teams are not expanded then at least posters with step-by-step instructions on how to use EVMs could be distributed.
“The elections will be affected by people not knowing how to use the machines. If they see it for the first time they won’t know how to operate it,” she emphasised.
When New Era spoke to the regional voter education officer in Kavango East, Daniel Kandjengo, he said they have been experiencing a challenge with regard to transport and that is why they were unable to reach many people.
“We had a problem with our cars, some of them were in the garage but they are out now. We now have five teams operating in various constituencies of Kavango East and will have more by the end of next week,” Daniel said.
Daniel said they are busy preparing for the elections to ensure come election day voters will have been educated on how to use EVMs.
“By November 28 we would have reached all and finished with all the farms in the region,” he said.
Kavango East was created in 2013 as the country’s 14th region when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West.
Kavango East comprises of six constituencies, namely, Mashare, Mukwe, Ndiyona, Ndonga Linena, Rundu Rural and Rundu Urban.