Parties happy with the ballot printing process amid tender controversy

Political parties say the process of printing election ballots is going well in South Africa.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has sent a delegation comprising 18 political parties contesting in the elections to South Africa.

The delegation will observe the design, layout, production, printing, packaging, and delivery of ballot papers.

The delegation will also inspect the facilities where the ballot papers will be printed.

ECN awarded Ren-Form, a South African company, a N$6.2-million tender to print ballot papers for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

On Wednesday, the Independent Patriots for Change spokesperson Imms Nashinge told The Namibian that the process is going well.

“There were a few concerns regarding the ballot, particularly the placement of our party emblems and logos. However, those issues were addressed, and the printing of parliamentary ballots began smoothly yesterday at 15h00 and is still in progress,” he said.

Nashinge said Ren-Form is well organised.

“The printing of the presidential ballots was supposed to start, but there have been a few changes to the schedule,” he said.

Nashinge also looks forward to the packaging process.

“We will ensure that the numbers align with the agreed arrangements from our plenary meetings,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Empowerment Fighting Corruption has raised concerns over the lack of Namibian officers to monitor the printing.

“The printing goes beyond the sleeping time. We need Namibian police officers to monitor the printing process 24 hours,” he says.