Voter registrationcalls intensify

… Electoral commission announces voter registration sites 

Political parties have been called on to raise support for voter registration and awareness.

This to avoid voter apathy in the presidential and National Assembly elections slated for November.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) on Friday announced it has identified 4 297 registration points in 121 constituencies in all 14 regions of the country for the general registration of voters.

Political analyst Ben Mulongeni says political parties’ campaigns and manifestos have a role to play in convincing eligible voters to register. 

“A lot of young people are not interested in politics, because there is not enough education around it. 

“It’s the duty of a political party to teach first-time voters about the benefits it comes with and how they would be involved in the economic activities of the country,” he says.

Mulongeni says political parties should refrain from using cheap methods of campaigning, such as name calling, dishing out insults, or using the liberation struggle as a tool to attract voters.

They should rather explain to voters how they would approach big national projects, he says.

“It is important to prepare voters for the new struggle, which is the economic struggle,” he says.

“An 18-year-old wants to hear how their studies would be funded, how they would get jobs after graduating and how their businesses would flourish in the limping Namibian economy,” Mulongeni says.

He believes pensioners would not hesitate to register. 

Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says political parties are not doing enough to educate especially first-time voters.

“Don’t tell young people there is no corruption. Tell them how you are going to solve it,” he says.  

“There are two things parties have to do: get people to register, and get them to the polls. The more people you have at the polls, the better,” he says. 

Preliminary population statistics released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) on 13 March indicate that Namibia’s population has increased to 3 022 401 people. 

According to the NSA, 1 731 790 Namibian citizens are eligible to register as voters.

Meanwhile, statistics from the ECN indicate that the youth vote constituted 45% of votes cast in the 2014 presidential and National Assembly elections.

This is despite the fact that the youth constitutes 65% of Namibia’s registered voters.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) national spokesperson Imms Nashinge says his party has drafted a programme as a stakeholder on educating voters, which will be launched soon.

“Our main purpose is to make sure that Namibians go out in numbers and participate in the national elections – not only to vote for us, but to exercise their civic duties.” 

Nashinge says he is, however, disappointed with the allocated time available for registration.

“I think three months are not enough, and I suggest that the ECN extend the hours to maybe 21h00 to allow people who do not get time during the day to go and register.”

Swapo Party Youth League’s secretary for information and mobilisation, Moses Shikerete, says the party is currently devising a mechanism to target first-time voters. 

“It’s imperative to teach the voters, especially young people, why they should vote. We will go to places where the young people are, especially the institutions of higher learning,” he says. 

His hope is that the University of Namibia reconsider its decision to suspend political activities on campus.

He says the party’s manifesto, when launched, would be its biggest tool to attract voters. 

Landless People’s Movement  (LPM) Youth Command Element Khomas leader Junia Kaindjee says the party is using social media as a tool to educate voters. 

“Young people need to understand the importance of voting. We all need to vote to make sure that whoever wins is the choice of the young people.”

The ECN has announced that voter registration dates cannot be extended and encourages all eligible citizens to register within their constituencies from 3 June to 1 August.