The last few weeks have seen Omaheke region making great strides in increasing the number of registered voters across its seven constituencies, with the number now well over 31 000.
Compared to the last figures of about 20 330 registered voters, which is about 32% of eligible voters, the Electoral Commission of Namibia has made progress in reaching the remotest areas of the vast region.
The ECN has passed the 50% mark of registered voters in the region, with the number now standing at an accumulative figure of more than 31 000. In total, the region has 55 757 eligible voters.
Speaking to this publication, Omaheke regional electoral officer Josef Amwandi expressed satisfaction with the improving number of registered voters, saying he expects the figure to rise further in the remaining days of the registration period.
“What people must also understand is that Omaheke region is a vast region and to reach all the people, one has to drive hundreds of kilometres to reach various access points. When you take places like Otjombinde, Eiseb, Okehijomuramba and others that are situated deep, you will understand how difficult it is to reach everyone on time.
“But despite a few challenges, we have managed to ensure that everyone in the region is accorded an opportunity to register as a voter. I’m happy with how people responded wherever we went, and one can see that people are ready to partake in the coming elections,” said Amwandi.
He said in most urban areas, public interest was high, and most registration points were busy from morning to sunset, as young and old all came to register.
“We had small challenges of few people coming to registration points in the villages and in most rural setups, but it went smoothly in the region’s urban centres as many people were aware of what was going on and made time to come through and register. I must admit that our numbers as a region drastically improved when we started shifting to the urban areas and we want to continue that trajectory, but of course, without leaving those in faraway areas.”
According to the ECN’s last update, Otjombinde constituency had the lowest registered voters, with just 998 people out of 4 551 eligible voters. It is followed by the Kalahari constituency with only 2 276 registered voters out of 6 609 eligible voters.
In Aminius constituency, which has 7 819 eligible voters, only 2 808 voters managed to register and in Okorukambe constituency, only had 2 584 people registered out of the expected 6 644.
Okorukambe is followed by Epukiro constituency with 1 675 registered voters from 4 268 eligible voters, while the vast Otjinene constituency had 2 451 people issued with voters’ cards out of 6 163 potential voters.