Query: ECN director Paul Isaak, why are you quiet on the implementation of the use of the verifiable paper trail? Are you sleeping on instructions from your appointing authority and playing dumb? If you are incapable of insuring something so simple, do the honourable thing and resign, please!
Response: The enquiry on the voter verification paper audit trail (VVPAT) for the New Era Newspaper bears reference. The ECN is currently in consultation with the developers, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) on the subject matter. In other words, the ECN is working together with BEL to develop a prototype of the VVPAT.
This in itself is a process, as the ECN must ensure that the prototype meets specific electoral standards and adheres to the principles of safeguarding electoral integrity. Plans for consultations with stakeholders, especially political parties, are in the pipeline.
Therefore, the ECN is committed towards the implementation of the VVPAT. Furthermore, the issue of the VVPAT is not an option, but is required in the Electoral Act 2014, Section 97.
• Ms Vikitoria Hango, Corporate Communications Officer, Electoral Commission of Namibia, E-mail Address: vhango@ecn.na