D-day for voter registration looms
Over 80% of eligible voters registered
As the registration process comes to an end this week, the ECN has announced that more than 80% of eligible voters are registered.
Namibians have until Thursday to register to vote in the upcoming National Assembly and presidential elections, slated for November.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has on several occasions reiterated that those who fail to register will not be eligible to vote because there will be no supplementary voter registration process.
As of 27 July, official records indicate that 1 315 124 of the eligible 1 615 910 voters were registered.
Once the general registration of voters (GRV) process ends, the commission has until Monday to produce a provisional voter register for display and objections. This process will run until 25 August.
The register will then be published in the government gazette on 29 August.
The electoral calendar also states that the recruitment and training of polling officials - both local and abroad - will commence on 1 August.
The calendar further details dates on which the political parties that have registered to contest in the elections have to submit their nominations for public representatives in parliament, and their presidential candidates.
Youth vote
The registration exercise has faced some technical challenges, especially during the initial stages, with some of the registration equipment experiencing glitches - to the dismay of the public. But the commission has assured all issues were resolved swiftly.
Despite these challenges, many young people, especially first-time voters, have already shown interest in registering before the exercise officially ends. The new voting bloc has often complained that they are under-represented in government, despite making up over 70% of the country’s population.
"We need jobs because many young graduates are sitting at home with their qualifications," a young Windhoek-based voter told Election Nexus.
Another student said funding mechanisms at universities are crucial to ensure that students from poor backgrounds get a chance to study. "Young people do not want things on a silver platter like some people claim. What we want is opportunities to improve ourselves in order to become active participants in the economic space of the country. We expect the government to ensure that there is a conducive environment for young people to study; this includes decent accommodation, transport and quality tertiary education," they said.
More money
A fortnight ago, ECN told President Nangolo Mbumba that it is short of roughly N$60 million to run a smooth voter registration and national election process.
ECN has earmarked N$269 million towards facilitating this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections in November, but commissioners deem this inadequate.
ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua explained that given the change in numbers from 1.7 million to 1.6 million, there are new and unforeseen expenses they will have to cater for. "There is normally a budget review process with the ministry of finance, and I think it will take place in August. It was a sufficient [budget]. The [preliminary census] statistics were released after we had already procured some of the registration kits and, with the new figure, we needed to take additional kits. It means there is a shortfall, but we will present our case to the ministry," she explained.
She pleaded with government ministries and agencies to release their vehicles so that the ECN relies less on private owners.
"During the election period, we need a lot more vehicles. It might be 900 or over a 1 000 and certainly those cannot be purchased in one financial year. At the moment, we only have 110 vehicles in our fleet; some at headquarters and some at our offices. But probably only about 60% are in a workable condition. That is why we approached the ministry to procure additional vehicles,” Nghikembua said.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has on several occasions reiterated that those who fail to register will not be eligible to vote because there will be no supplementary voter registration process.
As of 27 July, official records indicate that 1 315 124 of the eligible 1 615 910 voters were registered.
Once the general registration of voters (GRV) process ends, the commission has until Monday to produce a provisional voter register for display and objections. This process will run until 25 August.
The register will then be published in the government gazette on 29 August.
The electoral calendar also states that the recruitment and training of polling officials - both local and abroad - will commence on 1 August.
The calendar further details dates on which the political parties that have registered to contest in the elections have to submit their nominations for public representatives in parliament, and their presidential candidates.
Youth vote
The registration exercise has faced some technical challenges, especially during the initial stages, with some of the registration equipment experiencing glitches - to the dismay of the public. But the commission has assured all issues were resolved swiftly.
Despite these challenges, many young people, especially first-time voters, have already shown interest in registering before the exercise officially ends. The new voting bloc has often complained that they are under-represented in government, despite making up over 70% of the country’s population.
"We need jobs because many young graduates are sitting at home with their qualifications," a young Windhoek-based voter told Election Nexus.
Another student said funding mechanisms at universities are crucial to ensure that students from poor backgrounds get a chance to study. "Young people do not want things on a silver platter like some people claim. What we want is opportunities to improve ourselves in order to become active participants in the economic space of the country. We expect the government to ensure that there is a conducive environment for young people to study; this includes decent accommodation, transport and quality tertiary education," they said.
More money
A fortnight ago, ECN told President Nangolo Mbumba that it is short of roughly N$60 million to run a smooth voter registration and national election process.
ECN has earmarked N$269 million towards facilitating this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections in November, but commissioners deem this inadequate.
ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua explained that given the change in numbers from 1.7 million to 1.6 million, there are new and unforeseen expenses they will have to cater for. "There is normally a budget review process with the ministry of finance, and I think it will take place in August. It was a sufficient [budget]. The [preliminary census] statistics were released after we had already procured some of the registration kits and, with the new figure, we needed to take additional kits. It means there is a shortfall, but we will present our case to the ministry," she explained.
She pleaded with government ministries and agencies to release their vehicles so that the ECN relies less on private owners.
"During the election period, we need a lot more vehicles. It might be 900 or over a 1 000 and certainly those cannot be purchased in one financial year. At the moment, we only have 110 vehicles in our fleet; some at headquarters and some at our offices. But probably only about 60% are in a workable condition. That is why we approached the ministry to procure additional vehicles,” Nghikembua said.
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