Swapo wants elections to go on despite concerns

Swapo says the election process must proceed despite concerns raised about the ballot printing process.

Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa said this during the arrival of the election ballots in Windhoek on Wednesday.

“We must continue, but our approach should prioritise helping everyone involved as key stakeholders. After all, the elections are not held for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), they are for the political parties and the people,” she said.

The ECN awarded Ren-Form CC a N$6.2-million tender to print ballot papers for Namibia’s upcoming presidential and National Assembly elections.

The ECN further sent a delegation, comprising 18 political parties contesting in the elections, to Ren-Form in South Africa.

The delegation inspected the facilities where the ballot papers were printed and observed the design, layout, production, printing, packaging and delivery of ballot papers.

However, some of the delegates have complained that they were not accorded full supervision and there was no clear communication by the ECN and Ren-Form.

Shaningwa requested that every election ballot paper be inspected thoroughly to eliminate all concerns surrounding the printing process.

She said the elections must take place because the law mandates that elections occur every five years.

On Tuesday, Swapo delegate Veikko Nekundi was allegedly caught on video shoving an ECN commissioner during the observation in South Africa.