ECN to recruit over 14 000 polling officials

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) will hire over 14 000 polling officials to conduct the upcoming elections.

ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka on Friday said the commission is in the process of shortlisting polling officials.

“We are looking at deploying approximately 14 000 to 15 000 polling officials across the country during the voting period,” he said.

Siluka said the commission has a total of 2 523 polling teams and 4 637 polling points, including mobile and permanent stations.

“We have trained 121 returning officers and they are already deployed,” he said.

He said the ECN will be employing about 256 regional and constituency information technology officers.

“We have approximately 2 600 vehicles needed to support 2 558 teams, plus 121 returning officers. In the past, we relied on borrowing vehicles from government offices, ministries and agencies, but due to current challenges, this is no longer feasible,” he said.

DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

Meanwhile, the commission has dispatched the election ballots for all 35 Namibian diplomatic missions abroad.

This was announced by ECN chief electoral officer Peter Shaama on Saturday.

“The commission is pleased to announce the successful completion of the packaging, distribution and dispatch of ballot papers and non-sensitive materials for the presidential and National Assembly elections,” he said.

Special voting is scheduled to take place on 13 November at all diplomatic missions abroad.

Shaama said the packaging and distribution commenced and were completed on Thursday.

He said the process was done with the assistance of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation using diplomatic bags to ensure timely delivery.

“As part of its commitment to ensuring transparency, the commission invited all 21 political parties contesting in the 2024 national elections to observe the packaging and distribution of both sensitive and non-sensitive election materials, out of which only 11 political parties participated in the process,” Shaama said.

“The commission, however, is urging all political parties contesting the 2024 national elections to take part in the ongoing packing and distribution of election materials to ensure the integrity of our democratic processes as a shared responsibility,” he said.

Shaama reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair and transparent elections.

“The commission will update electoral stakeholders and the general public on the progress regarding the packing and distribution of election materials for voting on 13 November – special voting for members of uniform forces and sea-going personnel inside the country.”