First-time voters, ECN volunteers say 'never again'
“I was so excited to vote as a first-time voter,” Teagan Hansen, who cast her first vote in a Namibian election last week in Swakopmund, said.
“But the whole experience was terrible,” she added.
She described long queues and said she was only able to cast her vote after midnight – following a seven-hour wait in the cold evening.
Hansen admitted that there were moments when she considered leaving without voting, but she ultimately decided to persevere.
“I will only vote [again] if they change the process. Maybe if they implement more efficient and fair ways of doing it. Then maybe,” she said.
Her experience and sentiments were echoed by Otavi resident Salom Jambeingeh. “I was excited to vote and have my voice heard,” he said, but after hours of waiting in the near-40°C sun, his optimism waned considerably.
‘Awful experience’
Election officials also highlighted their experiences as volunteers.
“We have not slept. We are not eating and there is no water,” said Eveline Shilamba, the returning officer for the Windhoek East constituency. She emphasised that election officials are not employees of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) but rather ordinary citizens who volunteered.
“Awful. My experience was awful – I never want to do this again,” said a first-time election official who requested anonymity.
According to this official, they were supposed to be finished by Thursday but were forced to continue working until Saturday due to the numerous, well-documented election hiccups.
“No food or water was provided to us. We had to spend our own money to cater for ourselves,” the official claimed.
What went wrong?
In a media release issued on 28 November, ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua addressed the challenges faced at some polling stations.
Nghikembua noted that the issues included overheating tablets, UV flashlights running out of battery power and a shortage of ballot papers.
These delays meant that some voters had to wait in line for more than eight hours – with some waiting upwards of 11 hours.
Trust levels hit rock bottom
Graham Hopwood, a political analyst and director of the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), said: “It would be understandable if voters, particularly first-time voters, were put off by elections altogether after these experiences. In the short term, I do not think there is much that can be done to restore trust levels, but once the dust has settled, we need a wholesale review of the Electoral Act.”
Hopwood emphasised that voters must be actively engaged to improve future elections.
“In order to ensure that there is no repeat of 27 November, voters need to demand a better and more accountable ECN,” he stressed.
“We can’t afford to have another election like this because this has damaged Namibia’s reputation as a functioning democracy,” Hopwood warned.
A possible solution, he added, could be to prohibit voters from casting their ballots outside the constituency where they registered.
“Under such a system there should be no ballot shortcomings, and concerns about ballot box stuffing could be allayed,” he suggested.
#NamibiaDecides2024
“But the whole experience was terrible,” she added.
She described long queues and said she was only able to cast her vote after midnight – following a seven-hour wait in the cold evening.
Hansen admitted that there were moments when she considered leaving without voting, but she ultimately decided to persevere.
“I will only vote [again] if they change the process. Maybe if they implement more efficient and fair ways of doing it. Then maybe,” she said.
Her experience and sentiments were echoed by Otavi resident Salom Jambeingeh. “I was excited to vote and have my voice heard,” he said, but after hours of waiting in the near-40°C sun, his optimism waned considerably.
‘Awful experience’
Election officials also highlighted their experiences as volunteers.
“We have not slept. We are not eating and there is no water,” said Eveline Shilamba, the returning officer for the Windhoek East constituency. She emphasised that election officials are not employees of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) but rather ordinary citizens who volunteered.
“Awful. My experience was awful – I never want to do this again,” said a first-time election official who requested anonymity.
According to this official, they were supposed to be finished by Thursday but were forced to continue working until Saturday due to the numerous, well-documented election hiccups.
“No food or water was provided to us. We had to spend our own money to cater for ourselves,” the official claimed.
What went wrong?
In a media release issued on 28 November, ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua addressed the challenges faced at some polling stations.
Nghikembua noted that the issues included overheating tablets, UV flashlights running out of battery power and a shortage of ballot papers.
These delays meant that some voters had to wait in line for more than eight hours – with some waiting upwards of 11 hours.
Trust levels hit rock bottom
Graham Hopwood, a political analyst and director of the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), said: “It would be understandable if voters, particularly first-time voters, were put off by elections altogether after these experiences. In the short term, I do not think there is much that can be done to restore trust levels, but once the dust has settled, we need a wholesale review of the Electoral Act.”
Hopwood emphasised that voters must be actively engaged to improve future elections.
“In order to ensure that there is no repeat of 27 November, voters need to demand a better and more accountable ECN,” he stressed.
“We can’t afford to have another election like this because this has damaged Namibia’s reputation as a functioning democracy,” Hopwood warned.
A possible solution, he added, could be to prohibit voters from casting their ballots outside the constituency where they registered.
“Under such a system there should be no ballot shortcomings, and concerns about ballot box stuffing could be allayed,” he suggested.
#NamibiaDecides2024
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