Short-sighted Decision
IN the wake of complaints from certain opposition parties about what they regard as the unfair allocation of broadcast time to those other than the ruling party, Swapo, in the run-up to elections, come queries from readers of this newspaper as to why The Namibian does not carry important educational and other voter-related material compiled by the Electoral Commission.
Several inserts and advertisements have already appeared in various
newspapers in the run-up to the Presidential and National Assembly
elections set down for November 15-16 and the Regional Councils
election to be held on November 29-30 this year, but not The
Namibian.
Today, an insert on Elections 2004 compiled by the Electoral
Commission of Namibia and detailing the polling stations around the
country for the Presidential, National Assembly and Regional
elections, will not appear in this newspaper.
Vital information for voters of this country has therefore been
denied to those many thousands of citizens for whom The Namibian is
the newspaper of choice.
Ironically, the wording on the front cover of the insert today
reads 'Voting is not only a right but also a duty to ensure the
future for all'.
Yet educational and other vital information on this same 'right'
is conveniently denied to a large portion of our population which
consists of our readers throughout the country.
Most Namibians are by now aware of the December 2001 Government
ban on advertising in, and purchase of, this newspaper on grounds
of what Cabinet called our 'anti-Government stance'.
The ban is still in force.
What we regard as an attempt at economic sabotage of the
newspaper has not succeeded in either muzzling or closing The
Namibian down; and at the end of the day, has probably
inconvenienced Government to no inconsiderable degree.
We have, therefore, chosen to live quietly with the ban,
confident that sooner or later Government would realise that
ultimately it is short-changing the people.
Hints that the ban had outlived its usefulness and that
Government might soon lift it have been made by a number of
Government leaders.
However, it remains in force.
On the vitally important matter of educational material for
voters for the forthcoming elections, and thereby the strengthening
of democracy in Namibia, Government would have facilitated the
process and made things easier for the electorate if it had placed
these inserts in The Namibian in order to facilitate the process,
as well as to make things easier for the electorate.
An inquiry with the Electoral Commission staff merely confirmed
that the ban had prevented the advertising of these materials in
The Namibian, and we were referred to the Chair of the Electoral
Commission, Victor Tonchi, for further clarification.
He in turn confirmed the ban applicable to all Government
departments, and promised to investigate the matter further and
come back to us.
Whatever the explanation for this serious oversight and, indeed,
handicap to many voters of this country on the part of a
Government, which is, at least on paper, committed to the
maintenance and strengthening of our democracy, it will be a case
of too little, too late.
Voters, and thereby our democracy, have already been
disadvantaged or handicapped by Government's actions in trying to
silence the voice of a newspaper perceived to be too critical of
the political leadership of the day.
Our voice has not been silenced, and we will continue to inform
the people to the best of our ability without submitting to acts of
political duress for short-term financial gain.
However, when Government directly disadvantages the electorate,
those who gave and continue to give them the mandate to govern,
then we must object on their behalf.
Education of our electorate on the voting procedures and places
is absolutely essential for a healthy democracy.
Government has done the people of this country a disservice by
making such information available only on a selective basis.
Today, an insert on Elections 2004 compiled by the Electoral
Commission of Namibia and detailing the polling stations around the
country for the Presidential, National Assembly and Regional
elections, will not appear in this newspaper.Vital information for
voters of this country has therefore been denied to those many
thousands of citizens for whom The Namibian is the newspaper of
choice.Ironically, the wording on the front cover of the insert
today reads 'Voting is not only a right but also a duty to ensure
the future for all'.Yet educational and other vital information on
this same 'right' is conveniently denied to a large portion of our
population which consists of our readers throughout the
country.Most Namibians are by now aware of the December 2001
Government ban on advertising in, and purchase of, this newspaper
on grounds of what Cabinet called our 'anti-Government stance'.The
ban is still in force.What we regard as an attempt at economic
sabotage of the newspaper has not succeeded in either muzzling or
closing The Namibian down; and at the end of the day, has probably
inconvenienced Government to no inconsiderable degree.We have,
therefore, chosen to live quietly with the ban, confident that
sooner or later Government would realise that ultimately it is
short-changing the people.Hints that the ban had outlived its
usefulness and that Government might soon lift it have been made by
a number of Government leaders.However, it remains in force.On the
vitally important matter of educational material for voters for the
forthcoming elections, and thereby the strengthening of democracy
in Namibia, Government would have facilitated the process and made
things easier for the electorate if it had placed these inserts in
The Namibian in order to facilitate the process, as well as to make
things easier for the electorate.An inquiry with the Electoral
Commission staff merely confirmed that the ban had prevented the
advertising of these materials in The Namibian, and we were
referred to the Chair of the Electoral Commission, Victor Tonchi,
for further clarification.He in turn confirmed the ban applicable
to all Government departments, and promised to investigate the
matter further and come back to us.Whatever the explanation for
this serious oversight and, indeed, handicap to many voters of this
country on the part of a Government, which is, at least on paper,
committed to the maintenance and strengthening of our democracy, it
will be a case of too little, too late.Voters, and thereby our
democracy, have already been disadvantaged or handicapped by
Government's actions in trying to silence the voice of a newspaper
perceived to be too critical of the political leadership of the
day.Our voice has not been silenced, and we will continue to inform
the people to the best of our ability without submitting to acts of
political duress for short-term financial gain.However, when
Government directly disadvantages the electorate, those who gave
and continue to give them the mandate to govern, then we must
object on their behalf.Education of our electorate on the voting
procedures and places is absolutely essential for a healthy
democracy.Government has done the people of this country a
disservice by making such information available only on a selective
basis.