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Opinion – Election challenge: Lawful vs unlawful elections

Opinion – Election challenge: Lawful vs unlawful elections

After a long day of legal arguments, five judges of appeal retreated to their chambers to determine whether to set aside the Presidential elections of 2024 or not. What is clear from the arguments in court is that none of the parties before court are alleging irregularities. None of the parties before court are arguing that the elections are rigged. They said that last year and some followers continue to advance that narrative but truth be told, the Supreme Court of this land is not called upon to determine whether the elections were rigged or not, the Supreme Court is not called upon to decide whether there were irregularities in the elections or not.

Let that sink in as we await the outcome.

What the Supreme Court is called upon to decide is whether the proclamation that extended the voting was lawful or not. Whereas Advocate Raymond Heathcote Senior Counsel (SC) argued that it is lawful on behalf of President Nangolo Mbumba, Advocate Anton Katz SC and counsel for the Landless People’s Movement eloquently argued that it is not.

We are talking about the proclamation that extended the voting period and not the original proclamation that set the voting date.

If the court finds the proclamation extending the elections unlawful and thus unconstitutional and sets it aside, it might follow that everything resulting from or because of the proclamation should be set aside.

What the court will then set aside is the voting on the extended dates. That is because on the evidence before court, not on social media, the Electoral Commission of Namibia is saying they can easily separate the votes of 27 November 2024 from the votes of 29 and 30 November 2024.

This assertion by the ECN is not disputed by any of the parties.

That will leave us with the ‘lawful elections’ which were held pursuant to Proclamation 28 of 2024 which took place on 27 November and the ‘unlawful elections’ which were held pursuant to Proclamation 34 of 2024 which were held on 29 and 30 November 2024.

On these facts, I am here wondering why the court will set aside the ‘lawful elections.’

 That is what we should talk about, not rigging and irregularities, no!

*Natjirikasorua Tjirera is a senior legal officer in the Directorate of Legal Aid and a political pundit. He writes in his personal capacity.