EDITORIAL: ECN must pull up their socks
The number of court challenges emanating from national elections over the years must serve as an indictment on the work of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).
Currently, several disgruntled parties are also planning to approach the courts seeking to nullify the latest elections. If they stick to their word and challenge the election outcome in court, it will mean only the 1989 and the 2014 elections have not been challenged in court over the years.
While some may conclude that opposition parties disputing the election results are frivolous or sore losers, we cannot dispute the fact that the administrative processes adopted by the ECN, which have led to widespread errors and shortcomings during elections, have dented the credibility of the entire electoral process system.
Surely this cannot be taken lightly, mainly due to the fact that several electoral observer missions that were in the country to observe last week’s polls also highlighted the avalanche of administrative shortcomings that ECN caused, a situation that led to thousands of voters not being able to cast their votes.
The commission has over the years struggled to meet the expectations of its various stakeholders when it comes to managing electoral processes in the country. The situation cannot be left unattended because it has a dire impact on the revered democratic ideals of our republic.
Currently, several disgruntled parties are also planning to approach the courts seeking to nullify the latest elections. If they stick to their word and challenge the election outcome in court, it will mean only the 1989 and the 2014 elections have not been challenged in court over the years.
While some may conclude that opposition parties disputing the election results are frivolous or sore losers, we cannot dispute the fact that the administrative processes adopted by the ECN, which have led to widespread errors and shortcomings during elections, have dented the credibility of the entire electoral process system.
Surely this cannot be taken lightly, mainly due to the fact that several electoral observer missions that were in the country to observe last week’s polls also highlighted the avalanche of administrative shortcomings that ECN caused, a situation that led to thousands of voters not being able to cast their votes.
The commission has over the years struggled to meet the expectations of its various stakeholders when it comes to managing electoral processes in the country. The situation cannot be left unattended because it has a dire impact on the revered democratic ideals of our republic.
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Namibian Sun
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