Voters at Aris and Mix settlement face delays due to shortage of ballot papers

Hundreds of voters at Aris south of Windhoek endured a long day without being able to cast their vote by late afternoon yesterday.

This was due to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) allegedly running out of ballot papers at another voting point in the area.

One voter, who preferred to remain anonymous, yesterday told The Namibian that according to a notice, the ECN team would have commenced with voting at Aris at 12h00.

By the time of going to print yesterday, voting has, however, not started yet.

ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka yesterday said he could not comment on the issue until the end of the day.

At another polling station at Mix settlement, voting was hampered too due to a shortage of ballot papers.

When The Namibian visited the polling station, hundreds of dejected voters were waiting for voting to commence.

Presiding officer at Mix settlement Emilia Ndemueeda yesterday confirmed that the ECN team ran out of ballot papers.

“So far, so good, but the only issue is that we are running out of ballot papers, and this may cause delays. We have sent our officers to get more ballot papers at the ECN’s office,” she said.

Eliaser Heita, a voter at this polling station, yesterday said the queues were extremely long and did not seem to be moving.

“I have been here since 06h00 and now it is almost 15h00, but I still have not voted yet,” he said.

Heita said despite delays he will make sure he casts his vote.