The All People’s Party (APP) has approached the Electoral Court in a quest to have a recount of the votes cast in the Ndonga Linena constituency during last year’s regional council elections. 
The party is claiming 40 ballots that were declared spoiled by the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s presiding officers were not spoiled according to law.

Last year, APP candidate Djami Balthazar Daniel obtained 1 061 votes – 12 votes less than the Swapo candidate Kampota Michael Shiwana, who received 1 073.

Shiwana was declared duly elected. 
In their application, filed on 13 January, APP agents allegedly observed ballots considered spoiled were ballots on which voters made a marking on photographed faces of their candidate of choice, rather than marking on the blank space next to the candidates as per the voting instructions.

In an affidavit, the party secretary general Vinsent Kanyetu said they requested for a recount, but their request was denied. 
He noted the presiding officers also failed to record the incident in the occurrence book at the polling stations as required by law.
“The Act expressly states that the presiding officer may not reject any ballot paper on which there is a clear indication –  a clear writing or marking by the voter on his or her candidate of choice,” explained Kanyetu. 

He further claimed the presiding officers acted beyond the scope of the powers granted to them in the Act when they rejected and refused to carefully consider the voter’s intention, which was demonstrated by the marking on their preferred candidate’s photograph on the ballot paper.
Kanyetu also claimed he and other APP party members were denied access by the ECN’s returning officer into the collation centre, which was stationed at Ndiyona for the verification of election results.

“On the evening of election day and in my interactions with our agents, I also started hearing complaints from our agents of votes that were excluded,” noted Kanyetu. 

APP said it would not require ECN a lot of financial and or human capital to do a recount, as they are still in possession of all ballots cast at the 10 fixed polling station and 14 mobile stations.
The cited respondents such as the ECN, ECN chairperson, ECN Chief Electoral Officer, Swapo, PDM and IPC are yet to indicate if they will oppose the application.
- mamakali@nepc.com.na