We embrace open dialogue - ECN
The Electoral Commission of Namibia's (ECN) director for voter and civic education, Marilyn Katjitundu, says open dialogue between the commission and the public is key to ensuring that the latter is well-versed with the country’s electoral processes.
ECN is committed to ensuring that registered voters exercise their right to vote, she said last week during an election talk hosted by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office.
On the sidelines of the meeting, a member of the public, Loide Shaparara, said she feels ECN is doing the best it can given the circumstances.
“I think they are doing their best for where they are. That's the fair answer. A lot is going right - there were lessons learnt from previous experiences, for which the ECN must be applauded,” she said.
Shaparara added: “They find themselves in a peculiar situation, being a new commission as well as having new management in the face of elections that can be described as unprecedented. It must be quite challenging, in terms of the institutional memory and experience with dealing with elections with the dynamics of the upcoming elections. It must be challenging. I am mindful of that.”
As for improvements to be made, Shaparara believes that the ECN could aid its credibility by being more eager to lend an ear and engage the electoral stakeholders. “I think they must just do a little bit more listening. It is my opinion that the ECN at this point is either under pressure or they are being recalcitrant. If they just do a little bit more listening, they just might get the entire nation to take them into their confidence,” she shared.
Meanwhile, Victor //Hauseb, another member of the public who attended the discussion, said: “I don’t trust the ECN at all because of experiences in the past. Even the question here about how we should vote - is it electronic or manual - was not even clear to me”.
He added: “I think they are not really independent and they are semi-state. Whatever happens, somehow there is still a link [to the state], and it will never be free and fair, in my opinion. In the past, there were ballot boxes found in the north. How did it come that boxes were found? And when those boxes were found, did they actually count them? I just don’t trust them".
ECN is committed to ensuring that registered voters exercise their right to vote, she said last week during an election talk hosted by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office.
On the sidelines of the meeting, a member of the public, Loide Shaparara, said she feels ECN is doing the best it can given the circumstances.
“I think they are doing their best for where they are. That's the fair answer. A lot is going right - there were lessons learnt from previous experiences, for which the ECN must be applauded,” she said.
Shaparara added: “They find themselves in a peculiar situation, being a new commission as well as having new management in the face of elections that can be described as unprecedented. It must be quite challenging, in terms of the institutional memory and experience with dealing with elections with the dynamics of the upcoming elections. It must be challenging. I am mindful of that.”
As for improvements to be made, Shaparara believes that the ECN could aid its credibility by being more eager to lend an ear and engage the electoral stakeholders. “I think they must just do a little bit more listening. It is my opinion that the ECN at this point is either under pressure or they are being recalcitrant. If they just do a little bit more listening, they just might get the entire nation to take them into their confidence,” she shared.
Meanwhile, Victor //Hauseb, another member of the public who attended the discussion, said: “I don’t trust the ECN at all because of experiences in the past. Even the question here about how we should vote - is it electronic or manual - was not even clear to me”.
He added: “I think they are not really independent and they are semi-state. Whatever happens, somehow there is still a link [to the state], and it will never be free and fair, in my opinion. In the past, there were ballot boxes found in the north. How did it come that boxes were found? And when those boxes were found, did they actually count them? I just don’t trust them".
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article