Lahja Nashuuta

With under 10 days to go before the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) winds up its general voters’ registration exercise, its latest statistics are a cause for consternation to the commission and the public alike.

A week ago, the ECN reported that 989 367 eligible Namibians had registered as voters inside the country and at all Namibian diplomatic missions abroad.

This is a far cry from the 1.7 million eligible voters, a situation which has left those leading the commission scratching their heads.

“The commission urges all eligible Namibian citizens who have not yet registered to do so within the remaining days before the GRV period ends… There will be no extension of the voter registration period, or supplementary registration,” ECN head Petrus Shaama said at a press conference on Friday.

“Due to limitations within which the commission is required to finalise the provisional voters’ register for display, inspection and objection, and allow a ruling by the Electoral Tribunal and Electoral Court, the commission is not allowed to extend the registration dates,” he stressed.

He further cautioned eligible voters to register in constituencies where they live for them to be able to participate in the Regional
and Local Authorities’ elections, slated for 2025.

Meanwhile, ECN director for operations Zenia Klazen expressed the commission’s satisfaction with the commission’s voter and civic education for voters’ registration and polling processes. She asserted that the ECN has been playing a pivotal role in educating and encouraging citizens to register, as well as lobbying for the electorate to turn up and vote. The campaign kicked off on 7 March, and is expected to end on 27 November.

The ECN has likewise introduced pop-up registration points in congested areas such as open markets, as part of its strategies to reach out to unregistered voters.

More civic education has been conducted in the constituencies and areas where the turnout is very low, while political parties are urged to encourage their members to register, she said.

“We really did our outmost. We deployed officials all over the country to sensitise eligible voters to register, and we have more than 70 youth ambassadors,” Klazen noted. As things stand, at least 700 000 eligible voters have yet to register to vote.

There is no extension for the GVR exercise, which ends on 1 August 2024.

The total turnout of registered voters represents 61.2% of eligible voters, and shows a deficit of 39.8%.

Numbers 

The Ohangwena region has recorded the highest registration of voters’ turnout, with 70% of the eligible voters so far registered. Other regions which recorded a good number of eligible voters include Omusati with 69%, and Oshana with 68%.

Kunene, Erongo, Kavango West and Oshikoto also scored more than 60%. The Khomas region, the highest-populated region of
315 957 and about 179 959 voters, which houses the country’s capital city, had only 57% of eligible voters registered, while Zambezi recorded 52%. The Omaheke region lags behind, with only 51% of eligible voters registered so far, with constituencies such as Otjombinde, Okorukambe and Karahari recording low figures.

Echoing similar sentiments was ECN commissioner Gerson Uaripi Tjihenuna, who said the onus to register to vote rests on the shoulders of the eligible voter.

As a commission, he said, they have done their part. 

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” Tjihenuna emphasised. 

“At this stage, there is nothing much we can do. So, we just urge and hope that those who did not register will do so within the remaining days,” he said.

-lnashuuta@gmail.com