A ruling SWAPO member is contesting President Hage Geingob’s victory in November’s general elections, claiming that the Namibian leader returned to State House through the back door.
Panduleni Itula, a SWAPO member who contested the presidential elections against his party leader as an independent candidate, has petitioned Namibia’s Supreme Court for an order declaring Geingob’s re-election null and void.
In court documents, Itula claims that the electoral process was marred by problems with the use of electronic voting machines, which prejudiced some voters.
A lower court had last month dismissed another challenge by Itula against the use of electronic voting machines.
The challenge related to the alleged manipulability of the machines when used without a paper trail. This, Itula argues, makes it difficult to confirm the validity of a cast vote.
Geingob was re-elected after garnering 56 percent of the votes during the elections held on November 27, while Itula managed to get 30 percent of the ballots cast.
JN/APA