Namibia’s Electoral Commission has announced a two-day extension of the voting period for this week’s general elections to accommodate voters who were unable to cast their ballots on Wednesday.
Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) chairperson Elsie Nghikembua said the decision followed reports of significant issues, including polling stations running out of ballot papers and mobile voting teams failing to reach all voters in time.
“In line with the Commission’s obligation to provide every registered voter with a full opportunity to exercise his/her right to vote, and after having taken into consideration the complaints lodged, the Commission decided to recommend to the President of the Republic of Namibia, His Excellency, Dr Nangolo Mbumba to take the required steps to enable the continuation of the election in identified polling stations,” Nghikembua said in a statement late Thursday.
She added: “On Friday, the 29th of November 2024, and Saturday the 30th of November 2024 the fixed polling stations will open from 07h00 to 21h00 while for the mobile polling stations, they will open on the indicated times”, with some centres opening from 7am (0500 GMT) to 11am or 2pm while the majority would open from 7am to 9pm.
Nghikembua also noted the curious cases where polling stations in some regions reported having unused ballot paper books at the close of polling, even after having earlier raised alarm about potential shortages.
She said 29 polling stations experienced interruptions in voting due to shortages of ballot papers on Wednesday while 247 other voting centres were successfully restocked before running out of ballots.
Nghikembua emphasised that the ECN is committed to ensuring every registered voter has the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights.
“We have taken all precautions to ensure that remaining polling stations and all attending voters are given the full opportunity and required time to vote.”
The counting process for votes already cast is continuing while results from the extended polling stations would be counted separately but will be included in the final tally alongside results already reported.
JN/APA