Faith in elections still strong
But dissatisfaction on the rise
Afrobarometer data shows that Namibians' trust in electoral processes peaked in 2014 but has begun to see a decline since then.
A survey on Namibians' views regarding elections has found that while the majority of Namibians are comfortable voting directly for their leaders, this trend is starting to wane.
This follows a recent national Afrobarometer survey of election trends ahead of Namibians going to the polls in November.
Researcher Christiaan Keulder explained that while there is still strong support for democratic processes, more and more Namibians are losing faith in elections in general.
“74% of Namibians say yes, we should choose our leaders; that also means that one out of four Namibians say maybe we should think about a different way to elect our leaders,” he explained during a recent workshop on risk management hosted by the Economic Research Policy Association (ERPA).
“This is significant," he said, adding that it shows how effective elections are as a tool for removing unpopular leaders.
Keulder added that according to Afrobarometer surveys conducted across the continent, Namibia ranks well overall in terms of its populace’s preference for democracy compared to other African countries.
Going down
Commenting on the overall conduct of elections, Keulder said while Namibians were generally satisfied with the electoral process over the years, data shows dissatisfaction started to set in with the 2019 polls to elect a new president and lawmakers.
“If we look at the time series, you can see that the idea that our elections are free and fair, with minor problems, has remained high, sort of, but in the last two years, that has gone down,” he said.
Afrobarometer data showed that Namibians’ faith in elections peaked in 2014 but generally started to diminish in 2019 – this trend is expected to continue in November.
“2014 was a watershed year, democracy peaked, and then it started sliding down, dissatisfaction increased, so right now, slightly more than half the population is satisfied with how democracy works,” Keulder said.
This follows a recent national Afrobarometer survey of election trends ahead of Namibians going to the polls in November.
Researcher Christiaan Keulder explained that while there is still strong support for democratic processes, more and more Namibians are losing faith in elections in general.
“74% of Namibians say yes, we should choose our leaders; that also means that one out of four Namibians say maybe we should think about a different way to elect our leaders,” he explained during a recent workshop on risk management hosted by the Economic Research Policy Association (ERPA).
“This is significant," he said, adding that it shows how effective elections are as a tool for removing unpopular leaders.
Keulder added that according to Afrobarometer surveys conducted across the continent, Namibia ranks well overall in terms of its populace’s preference for democracy compared to other African countries.
Going down
Commenting on the overall conduct of elections, Keulder said while Namibians were generally satisfied with the electoral process over the years, data shows dissatisfaction started to set in with the 2019 polls to elect a new president and lawmakers.
“If we look at the time series, you can see that the idea that our elections are free and fair, with minor problems, has remained high, sort of, but in the last two years, that has gone down,” he said.
Afrobarometer data showed that Namibians’ faith in elections peaked in 2014 but generally started to diminish in 2019 – this trend is expected to continue in November.
“2014 was a watershed year, democracy peaked, and then it started sliding down, dissatisfaction increased, so right now, slightly more than half the population is satisfied with how democracy works,” Keulder said.
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