Extracts from the preliminary statement of the Joint NANGOF Trust and SADC-CNGO Observer Mission in respect of the 2009 Namibian Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
The Namibia Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (NANGOF) Trust in partnership with the SADC Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (SADC-CNGO) participated in the observation of the Namibian Presidential and National Assembly Elections deploying 47 observers to strategic constituencies in the country.
Comments on the pre-election phase
General: The late tabling of the Electoral Amendment Act in 2009 did not allow for adequate input from stakeholders. The Voter Education by the ECN was inadequate and this could be one of the reasons for the unacceptably high number of spoilt ballots (over 10 576 out of 811 143).
The election dates were announced very late (4 September 2009) and not by the Head of State as required by Section 50(1)(b) of the Electoral Act, Act 24 of 1992 as amended, but by the ECN. This was clearly in violation of the said section of the Act. The lawful announcement of the election dates by the President was only gazetted on 30 September 2009.
Voter registration: The continued practice of registering voters 20 years after independence by sworn statement rather than by Namibian identification documents diminishes the credibility of the Voters’ Roll. Prospective voters were frustrated and turned away by inadequately trained ECN registration officials, who insisted on documents required for voter registration for local authority elections, while these citizens only wanted to be registered for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
There were at least four different versions of the Voters’ Roll which has brought the Voters’ Roll into disrepute. Concerns were raised by most stakeholders that the Voters’ Roll did not reflect thorough checking and updating.
Political tolerance: In contravention of the ECN’s Code of Conduct for Political Parties to which all the fourteen (14) participating political parties had subscribed, the election campaign process was tainted by political intolerance and intimidation. Certain regions have effectively been declared as "no-go areas" for certain parties. Violence was used to prevent members of the opposition campaigning in such areas.
Media coverage: As far as the publicly funded state media are concerned thenews coverage on NBC TV was glaringly biased in favour of one political party; so were the radio broadcasts, while the New Era newspaper and Nampa attempted to present some balanced information.
Role of Security Forces: The Mission adds its voice to the numerous commendations for the exemplary lead taken by the Minister of Safety and Security, the Inspector-General of the Namibian Police, supported by regional commanders, executing their mandate free from political interference, fear or favour and instructing their subordinates to act likewise.
Comments on the election phase
Polling Days: Both polling days were peaceful and calm. The voting process was generally smooth.
The Mission however noted the following issues of concern:-
· Limited deployment of party agents.
· Inadequate knowledge of party agents regarding their roles and responsibilities.
· Deficiencies in the layout at some polling stations.
· Inconsistencies in the application of the inking procedures in some polling stations.
· The widely observed failure of either one or both of the inks.
· Inconsistent interpretation of the overnight vigil at ballot boxes.
· Fatigue of the polling officials, police and party agents, especially on the second day of the elections, which had a negative effect during counting.
· Interference by some party agents with the voting.
Counting: The Mission regards it as a positive development that the new Electoral Amendment Act provides for counting of votes at each polling station. However, the legal requirement of posting of results at polling stations was not adhered to in numerous cases.
Comments on the post-election phase
Announcement of results: At the Central Election Results Centre (CERC)the ECN was receiving the results under a cloak of secrecy. Accredited persons to the CERC were all locked out and left idling their time away in the foyer. This has raised serious questions about the transparency of the ECN and the purpose of the CERC.
Tendered votes: It is clear that the Tendered Vote System remains a challenge to the ECN, thereby creating serious logistical and election management challenges, resulting in more time being taken to tally, compute and announce the results. The practice of lumping results of ordinary votes and tendered votes together contravenes Section 26 of the Electoral Amendment Act of 2009. This unlawful practice resulted in voter turnouts of above 100%.
Verification Centres: Section 25(5) of the Electoral Amendment Act of 2009 makes it clear that the only place where re-counting of votes is authorised is at the polling station. No recounting of ballots should be done at the so-called ‘verification centres’.
General: The simultaneous announcement and rejection of the overall results has created a nationwide state of uncertainty. Based on our findings in the pre-election, election and post-election phases the Mission has serious reservations about the freeness and fairness of the election process.
Election Watch is a project of the Institute for Public Policy Research in Windhoek, Namibia.