Kunene voting marred by lack of ballot papers
Voters slam flawed election day
Many voters in the Kunene Region faced delays Wednesday night after ballot papers ran out at at least seven polling stations.
Following complaints of ballot paper shortages, voters in the Kunene Region have slammed Namibia's Electoral Commission (ECN), saying they had to wait more than two hours to vote after polling stations officially closed at 21:00.
Despite ECN's efforts to contain a furious crowd at Opuwo's power station polling station on Wednesday, the crowd continued to hurl charges at the election commission, labelling it "corrupt and being economical" with the facts.
More than 400 voters were forced to wait for hours before casting their ballots after the presiding officer announced that the polling station had run out of ballot papers, a statement that the unhappy voters did not take lightly. Voters accused the commission of unfair practices, being biased and undermining their democratic rights.
"What is this?" 'We demand answers.' 'Why is the commission taking this lightly?' 'We need to vote.' 'We need to exercise our democratic rights," some voters exclaimed.
‘Predicament’
At least seven voting stations in the Kunene Region had run out of ballot papers by 20:30, requiring the ECN to request fresh ballots from other polling stations.
ECN regional election officer Mike Nganjone emphasised the commission's commitment to holding free and fair elections while underscoring the necessity of offering equal voting opportunities to all eligible voters.
"The commission is busy addressing that predicament, and I must assure you that no one will be turned away, as it is our mandate to make sure that everyone who comes to the polling station before 21:00 has to vote," he said.
Nganjone also gave assurances that there were enough ballot papers; however, they had to be sourced from other polling stations that had already concluded voting.
"The issue of the ballot papers, we have been sourcing from other teams that have completed the process of polling. We then source those unused ballot books to the source for the teams that still have electorates that are still in line waiting to vote," he explained.
Delays
According to Nganjone, the commission had made good progress in the Opuwo Urban constituency. He confirmed that the situation at three polling stations had been resolved, with voting recommencing shortly before 22:00.
He also promised that the situation would be fully addressed and expressed hope that the procedure would be completed by Thursday morning.
Furthermore, several polling sites, particularly the mobile teams, completed the voting process, with vote counting having started at midnight.
On Wednesday, eligible Namibian voters flocked to polling stations across the country to elect a new president and members of parliament.
The Kunene Region is among the regions with the highest voter registration rates.
The region registered approximately 55 500 voters, with a fifth of them being first-time voters.
#NamibiaDecides2024
Despite ECN's efforts to contain a furious crowd at Opuwo's power station polling station on Wednesday, the crowd continued to hurl charges at the election commission, labelling it "corrupt and being economical" with the facts.
More than 400 voters were forced to wait for hours before casting their ballots after the presiding officer announced that the polling station had run out of ballot papers, a statement that the unhappy voters did not take lightly. Voters accused the commission of unfair practices, being biased and undermining their democratic rights.
"What is this?" 'We demand answers.' 'Why is the commission taking this lightly?' 'We need to vote.' 'We need to exercise our democratic rights," some voters exclaimed.
‘Predicament’
At least seven voting stations in the Kunene Region had run out of ballot papers by 20:30, requiring the ECN to request fresh ballots from other polling stations.
ECN regional election officer Mike Nganjone emphasised the commission's commitment to holding free and fair elections while underscoring the necessity of offering equal voting opportunities to all eligible voters.
"The commission is busy addressing that predicament, and I must assure you that no one will be turned away, as it is our mandate to make sure that everyone who comes to the polling station before 21:00 has to vote," he said.
Nganjone also gave assurances that there were enough ballot papers; however, they had to be sourced from other polling stations that had already concluded voting.
"The issue of the ballot papers, we have been sourcing from other teams that have completed the process of polling. We then source those unused ballot books to the source for the teams that still have electorates that are still in line waiting to vote," he explained.
Delays
According to Nganjone, the commission had made good progress in the Opuwo Urban constituency. He confirmed that the situation at three polling stations had been resolved, with voting recommencing shortly before 22:00.
He also promised that the situation would be fully addressed and expressed hope that the procedure would be completed by Thursday morning.
Furthermore, several polling sites, particularly the mobile teams, completed the voting process, with vote counting having started at midnight.
On Wednesday, eligible Namibian voters flocked to polling stations across the country to elect a new president and members of parliament.
The Kunene Region is among the regions with the highest voter registration rates.
The region registered approximately 55 500 voters, with a fifth of them being first-time voters.
#NamibiaDecides2024
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