Setback for election challenge of WRP, Swanu

THE Workers Revolutionary Party and Swanu have suffered a setback in their bid to have Namibia’s 2019 National Assembly election declared invalid and to stop the swearing-in of president Hage Geingob for a second term as head of state.

In a ruling given by the Electoral Court in Windhoek this morning, the two parties’ election challenge was removed from the court roll after the three judges set to hear the case were not satisfied with the security for costs offered by the two parties.

The two parties’ representative in the case, Amanda Tsoeu, indicated after the ruling that she would return to the court later today with another filing of security for costs.

Judges Nate Ndauendapo and Christie Liebenberg and acting judge Orben Sibeya pointed out to Tsoeu during a case management hearing on Thursday that the Electoral Act requires that a party filing an election challenge in the Electoral Court should also furnish security showing it would be able to cover its opponents’ legal costs should it at the end of the case be ordered to pay those costs.

Up to Thursday, the WRP and Swanu did not provide security for costs.

The court directed the parties to furnish security in an amount of N$50 000, and also stated that the security could be provided in another form should they not have the amount available. The court was then to decide whether the security furnished was acceptable, the judges also stated.

Following the court’s order on Thursday, the WRP offered a Nissan bakkie valued at N$193 000 as security.

However, in a ruling delivered this morning, the judges said documents presented to the court fell short of proving the ownership of the bakkie, while no proof that the WRP agreed to the furnishing of the vehicle as security had been provided to the court.

As a consequence, the court ordered that the matter was removed from the court roll.

Since their application to have the National Assembly election declared null and void and to have Geingob’s swearing-in stopped has not been dismissed, the two parties can return to court to have the matter re-enrolled.

The WRP and Swanu are claiming that, since the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) used electronic voting machines without a verifiable paper trail in the national elections on 27 November last year, the Electoral Act and Constitution were contravened and this affected the outcome of the elections.

The ECN is opposing the application to have the National Assembly election nullified and stop the presidential swearing-in on 21 March.