2016-08-12Staff Report 2 Windhoek Speaker of the National Assembly Professor Peter Katjavivi yesterday slammed media reports alleging that Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) commissioners were recently appointed 'un-procedurally'. A daily reported that the All People's Party (APP) president Ignatius Shixwameni and DTA leader McHenry Venaani had said the nomination of five electoral commissioners was un-procedural and questionable. Katjavivi said this is devoid of truth and is a misrepresentation of facts. “It is virtually impossible for the National Assembly’s Privileges Committee, which handled the matter, to have engaged in anything non-procedural when the exercise was managed under very clear guidelines mandated to the National Assembly, as stipulated under the Electoral Act,” said Katjavivi. Katjavivi says the Privileges Committee inherited an already commenced process, which had been delayed due to some technicalities. “The selection committee at the time, which was mandated to interview the potential candidates, comprised of representatives from the High/Supreme Court, Accounting/Auditors’ Board, NQA and the Public Service Commission, whose representative chaired the selection committee,” explained Katjavivi. He said the secretary of the National Assembly served as the secretary of the Selection Committee, adding that this committee did not accomplish its task due to some technical matters. Katjavivi said that as required under the Electoral Act, the Privileges Committee needed to look at CVs and propose to President Hage Geingob the names of the eight candidates, from which Geingob needed to nominate five candidates to the National Assembly for their endorsement as appointed electoral commissioners. He said the committee finished the exercise on July 11. “The purpose of this was to enable the matter to immediately refer to President Geingob for his attention and urgent appropriate action,” he said. 2016-08-12Staff Report 2
