Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) deputy president Kalimbo Iipumbu says the party will ask the High Court to set aside the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s decision to cancel its registration as a political party.
Iipumbu made this statement after the NEFF lost its case against the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) in the Electoral Court yesterday.
The party will explore all avenues to bring it back to Namibia’s political landscape, he said.
The ECN cancelled the NEFF’s registration as a political party in June.
The court dismissed the NEFF’s case against the ECN after ruling that the Electoral Court does not have the necessary jurisdiction to decide on the urgent application the party filed on 5 July.
The NEFF, which won two seats in the National Assembly in the November 2019 parliamentary elections, was asking the court to order the ECN not to proceed with the implementation of its decision to cancel the NEFF’s registration as a political party.
The ECN decided to cancel the NEFF’s registration in mid-June because the party failed to lodge its audited annual financial results with the commission as required by the Electoral Act.
In an interview with Desert Radio yesterday, Iipumbu said the NEFF would now file its case against the ECN at the Windhoek High Court.
Iipumbu said there is no way his party will perish.
“We formed this organisation to represent the working class and the poor, and we are not going to be undermined by those who think they can just do things now and let it go. We will remain fighters,” he said.
Iipumbu added: “We have been preparing our structures and forming branches for the 2024 elections. Despite fears, young people, the poor and the exploited are ready to stand firm, cast their votes and ensure that the NEFF gains representation in all sectors of life.”
In the court’s judgement, judge Orben Sibeya noted that the NEFF was asking the court to order the ECN not to proceed with the implementation of its decision to cancel the registration of the NEFF as a political party.
The party also asked the court to make that order while the NEFF proceeded with an application to have the ECN’s decision to cancel its registration reviewed and set aside.
The Electoral Court is a specialised court whose functions and powers are set out in the Electoral Act of 2014, Sibeya said.
The act limits the Electoral Court’s jurisdiction regarding pre-election matters to appeals coming from electoral tribunals.
The NEFF’s application about the ECN’s decision to cancel its registration is not an electoral issue that the Electoral Court has the necessary jurisdiction to decide, Sibeya stated.
He said this finding “does not by any measure shut the door of the courtroom in the face of the [NEFF]”.
Iipumbu yesterday denied that the NEFF did not comply with the Electoral Act and said the party rather did not submit its financial statements within the set time frame.
“The issue of compliance came into effect for all political parties effective from 2022 to 2023. We have looked for an auditor and presented our books to the audit firm,” he said.
He said the NEFF did not have full control over the auditing process after presenting its books to an audit firm.
“The auditors must thoroughly review every penny spent before giving their opinion, whether qualified or unqualified, and you can’t pressure them to favour you, even if you’ve paid for the audit,” Iipumbu said.
He said the party was under the impression that it was compliant and on track, with a due date of 30 June set for the submission of its financial statements to the ECN.
In arguments filed at the Electoral Court, lawyers representing the NEFF labelled the ECN’s decision to cancel the NEFF’s registration as “drastic and probably unprecedented” and as “effectively banning a political party”.
They also argued that the ECN’s decision was premature, that the NEFF was not given an opportunity to be heard before the decision was taken and that the decision was irrational.
The Electoral Act requires that political parties should submit audited financial statements to the ECN annually, legal counsel Gerson Narib, who represented the ECN, said in his arguments.
The ECN warned the NEFF in a letter on 25 April this year that if it did not submit the statements within 14 days the commission would use the section of the Electoral Act that allows it to cancel the NEFF’s registration, Narib said.
The NEFF was represented by lawyer Kadhila Amoomo when oral arguments were heard by the court two weeks ago.
Deputy judge president Hosea Angula and judge Beatrix de Jager agreed with Sibeya’s judgement.
Read more: NEFF to challenge deregistration in High Court
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