Political parties in discord with Ren-Form over ballot printing in SA

The inspection of the ballot at Ren-Form in South Africa has hit a snag.

This comes after represented political parties expressed concern on the setup, which they say does not accommodate all parties to observe the process.

A total of 18 political parties jetted off from Namibia on Sunday, to inspect how the ballot paper for the 27 November elections is being designed, printed, packaged, and distributed.

Landless People’s Movement representative Ivan Skrywer says on Monday, they successfully halted further production of the paper at the Ren-Form facility.

“Upon the commencement of the day’s business, we had serious concerns regarding the setup and arrangements to accommodate the parties to observe at the same time. Apparently, we must be divided into groups of two, and we have refused because we all want to be there at all times.

“As we speak, the production has not started. We sent them back to consult and get back to us. And we told the commissioners that we will not allow anything that we are not comfortable with because we will never compromise our objections that we have raised in Namibia. The least they can do is to accommodate all members from the group at all times,” he says.

By midday on Monday, parties were yet to be shown the template of the ballot to be used in the upcoming election.

Electoral Commission of Namibia spokesperson De Wet Siluka and chief referenda officer Peter Shama were not reachable for a comment.