The allocation of N$1.6 million for the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s legal fees has been labelled a waste of resources.
Independent Patriots for Change parliamentarian Michael Mwashindange on Friday in the National Assembly said the commission should rather focus on working to improve poor voter turnout.
Mwashindange said this during his contribution to the ECN’s budget motivation of N$181 million for the 2026/27 fiscal year, compared to N$677 million during the 2025/26 financial year.
“Nothing has been allocated for the electoral amendment bill, which the ECN and political parties have been working on.
“. . . all they do is mess up our elections, because they know they will be taken to court,” he said.
Mwashindange said the ECN should rather focus on the legal drafting of the electoral amendment bill and moving from using voter’s cards to identification documents.
Meanwhile, Affirmative Repositioning chief whip Vaino Hangula said the ECN’s budget is too small for an institution expected to cover all corners of the country, and suggested that the budget be increased to conduct annual training and voter registration.
He said elections should be harmonised to cut costs, and, if possible, be conducted over two days.
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