Free, fair and credible elections already being delivered: ECN

VOTING by seafarers and voters overseas for the national elections commenced on the 13th of November and on Saturday the 14th of November. The Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) was delighted to announce that the process was declared free, fair and professionally run. “This confirms that the ECN is once again delivering on its mandate to the people of Namibia to ensure transparent and fair democratic elections,” said Chairman of the ECN, Dr. Victor Tonchi.

“Even though the first poll results have been made known in terms of the law, the polling stations will be announcing the results as they become known. The ECN will therefore make the final election results available on the 29th of November in terms of the law.

“The voter’s register is a key element in the voting process, but as with any register, it is never going to be 100% accurate. This inaccuracy can be due to several reasons outside of the control of the ECN. Factors such as deaths where names cannot be immediately removed and therefore remain on the register, or people relocating to other areas of the country and failing to have their names removed from the register in a particular area, result in some inaccuracies. In addition to these factors, the voter’s register is not electronically linked to the Home Affairs database, which means that clean and instant updates are not readily available.

“People may appear more than once on the voter’s register because they may have changed their address and re-registered at another location or they may have lost their valid voters card.

“Should i t happen that a voter’s name does not appear on the voters register, the ECN urges voters not to panic. Your valid voter’s card allows you to vote whether your name appears on the voters register or not. All you will need to do is approach a qualified ECN official who will ask you to complete a form and then you will be able to proceed to cast your vote.

“The checks and balances the ECN has put in place, including the invisible ink, will ensure that each voter will only be able to cast one vote. In addition, given the ECN’s commitment to delivering free, fair and credible elections, the organisation will be deploying an electronic voter’s register in the most densely populated polling stations and parts of the country.

“Remember that democracy is based on the will of the people, so we urge all eligible and registered voters to cast your vote to elect our President and members of the National Assembly on the 27th and 28th of November. ECN officials will be manning the polling stations to ensure that you can vote in complete freedom and with peace of mind. Having delivered free, fair and credible elections over the last five elections, we are committed to delivering the same in 2009,” says Deputy Director of Operations for the ECN, Mr. Mujoro ECN – your partner in delivering the democratic process to Namibia