Landless People’s Movement calls for extended review period of voters’ register ahead of elections

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) has objected to the “short” period in which the party was able to inspect the provisional voters’ register.

Party spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa last week said a week was insufficient.

“I believe it was only a working week and we felt in hindsight that that time was not sufficient enough to be able to go through the entire voters’ register roll,” he said.

A voters’ register contains the names of every registered voter in every constituency in the country or local authority.

According to the website of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), following the registration of voters, the register is normally displayed for public inspection at its offices or magistrates’ offices after being advertised in the Government Gazette.

The ECN made the register available to the public and political parties between 29 August and 5 September.

This gave parties the opportunity to object to the inclusion of certain names.

The LPM suggested that the ECN provide more opportunity to do so.

The voters’ register will be published at the end of this month.

“We expressed that an opportunity be given once the final voters’ roll is released that there be an objection period so that parties can look into the final voters’ roll and see if any objections are necessary,” the spokesperson said.

ECN spokesperson Mulauli Siluka initially said the commission has not received any objection.

He later said he would verify this and confirm, but has not done so at the time of going to print yesterday.

Swanu secretary general Wendy Christian last week said the party had no objection to the voters’ roll.

“The main objections would have been that we know of people who have registered in a region/constituency they do not reside at.

“But for this election, one need not to have registered in those respective states. You can register anywhere and vote anywhere,” she said.

Christian said this objection would only come into play during the next regional and local authority elections.

“. . . if we are aware of any foreigners registering – a very difficult one to point out, as one is not privy to the recent/new status of the same foreigner,” she said.

Independent Patriots for Change spokesperson Imms Nashinge and Affirmative Repositioning spokesperson George Kambala last week indicated that their parties had no objection to the voters’ register.