Ballot paper tender on the cards
Global index’s indictment of ECN revealed
The commission is working around the clock to ensure that administrative processes are swiftly executed to meet deadlines.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) says it has commenced the bidding process for the printing of ballot papers for this year’s national elections slated for November.
The publicly available electoral calendar indicates that the process to procure, design, print and deliver the ballot papers was slated to begin on 1 August. The deadline for this process is set for 2 November.
ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka told Election Nexus yesterday that work is underway to meet the set deadlines.
“The administration process has been initiated as per the electoral calendar and the tender will be published in due course,” he confirmed.
Twenty authorised political party and presidential candidates' representatives contesting in both the National Assembly and presidential elections will publicly verify and sign off on the sample ballot papers on 21 and 22 October.
Spending targets
According to ECN’s annual procurement plan for 2024, the commission plans to spend N$158.5 million on election-related activities. The biggest chunk of that will go towards printing and advertising to the tune of N$25.2 million, followed by another N$25 million to acquire vehicles.
N$24.3 million has also been earmarked for spending on office and property rentals, including registration and polling venues, while N$21.8 million has been set aside for the acquisition of mobile registration kits.
The commission reiterated its commitment to ensure sound electoral administration as more than 1.4 million Namibians prepare to go to the polls – despite ongoing scrutiny from local and international entities that continue to poke holes in the ECN's work.
‘Eroded public trust’
One such entity is the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), which indicated in its 2024 Namibian country report that “the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is overall weak and plagued by neglect and inefficiency. This has eroded public trust and resulted in court orders compelling the ECN to align its practices with electoral laws”.
The index is a measure of the development status and governance of political and economic transformation processes in developing and transition countries around the world.
“While confidence in the ECN has declined and voter registration is met with suspicion, the electoral system is generally accepted by all political parties. With the shifting political balance of power, confidence and trust in the system appear to have increased. However, voter participation, especially at the communal and regional levels, remains very low,” the index found.
The publicly available electoral calendar indicates that the process to procure, design, print and deliver the ballot papers was slated to begin on 1 August. The deadline for this process is set for 2 November.
ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka told Election Nexus yesterday that work is underway to meet the set deadlines.
“The administration process has been initiated as per the electoral calendar and the tender will be published in due course,” he confirmed.
Twenty authorised political party and presidential candidates' representatives contesting in both the National Assembly and presidential elections will publicly verify and sign off on the sample ballot papers on 21 and 22 October.
Spending targets
According to ECN’s annual procurement plan for 2024, the commission plans to spend N$158.5 million on election-related activities. The biggest chunk of that will go towards printing and advertising to the tune of N$25.2 million, followed by another N$25 million to acquire vehicles.
N$24.3 million has also been earmarked for spending on office and property rentals, including registration and polling venues, while N$21.8 million has been set aside for the acquisition of mobile registration kits.
The commission reiterated its commitment to ensure sound electoral administration as more than 1.4 million Namibians prepare to go to the polls – despite ongoing scrutiny from local and international entities that continue to poke holes in the ECN's work.
‘Eroded public trust’
One such entity is the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), which indicated in its 2024 Namibian country report that “the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is overall weak and plagued by neglect and inefficiency. This has eroded public trust and resulted in court orders compelling the ECN to align its practices with electoral laws”.
The index is a measure of the development status and governance of political and economic transformation processes in developing and transition countries around the world.
“While confidence in the ECN has declined and voter registration is met with suspicion, the electoral system is generally accepted by all political parties. With the shifting political balance of power, confidence and trust in the system appear to have increased. However, voter participation, especially at the communal and regional levels, remains very low,” the index found.
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