With just seven days before Namibians cast their votes in the Presidential and National Assembly elections, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) yesterday dispatched all sensitive electoral materials to 12 regions.
This was confirmed by ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka, who informed New Era that all materials had been sent out under Namibian Police escort, except for //Kharas and Khomas.
“//Kharas materials have departed, and will be delivered today (Wednesday), while Khomas is currently sorting out distribution,” he said. The election is scheduled for next Wednesday. Speaking during a media briefing ahead of the special voting and voting abroad,
ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua had reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair and credible elections on 13 November 2024 for special voting, and next Wednesday.
“We have dedicated substantial resources and planning to guarantee the integrity of these elections. Our commitment is unwavering: to uphold the trust that you, as citizens of our country, have placed in us to administer a transparent and impartial electoral process,” she noted.
The Electoral Act states that only voters registered during the 2024 General Registration of Voters (GRV) can participate in the upcoming elections.
Voters must present a valid voter’s card, which will be verified against the register.
“No voter will be allowed to vote without a voter’s card. I, therefore, urge our electoral stakeholders, including political parties contesting in the upcoming national elections, to extend this information to their supporters as part of their voter education campaigns to ensure compliance,” Nghikembua emphasised.
She also revealed preliminary turnout figures from the special voting phase. Locally, 14 203 ballots were cast, while 2 147 ballots were cast at Namibian diplomatic missions.
This represents an additional 6 203 voters above the initial projection of 8 800.
She stated that although these numbers were not communicated in advance, the commission worked to ensure no voter was disenfranchised.
Early results from the diaspora voting indicate Swapo leading with 61% of both the presidential and parliamentary votes. The Independent Patriots for Change secured 33% of the presidential vote, and 27% for parliament.
Meanwhile, new kid on the political block, Affirmative Repositioning, garnered 12% of parliamentary votes and 6% of the presidential vote, outperforming other established parties. The Popular Democratic Movement and the Landless People’s Movement received fewer votes. In the United Kingdom, believed to be an IPC stronghold, the party won by a narrow margin of 10 votes over Swapo. The IPC also performed well in Cape Town, South Africa, while Swapo maintained dominance across most diplomatic missions.
Nationally, about 91% of eligible voters registered to participate in the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections, totalling 1.4 million registered voters.
Broken down by gender, 763 700 are male, while female voters constitute the remaining 852 100. -ljason@nepc.com.na