ECN pow-wow today

THE five commissioners of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) were locked in a meeting all day yesterday to discuss the organisational mistakes and shortcomings of the Directorate of Elections for next week’s regional by-election in Katutura’s Tobias Hainyeko constituency.

The opposition parties competing in the election – CoD, DTA, Republican Party and RDP – accused the Director of Elections, Moses Ndjarakana, of failing to inform them about the dates and venues for the inspection of the voters’ roll and failing to notify them to which magistrate they could lodge complaints about the roll. These accusations made it necessary for the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Victor Tonchi, to convene a meeting for yesterday morning which was still continuing at 18h00, an ECN official told The Namibian.Ndjarakana admitted to mistakes during a meeting on Wednesday The parties also accused him of giving too short notice of the date for supplementary voter registration and not letting them know at what venues registration would take place.In a letter to the ECN last week, the four parties requested that the ECN should postpone the by-election.Nico Smit of the Republican Party said his party and leaders of the DTA, RDP and CoD waited all day yesterday to see Tonchi on the matter.”Professor Tonchi phoned me just after 18h00 and said he would meet us Friday [today] at 08h00,” Smit told The Namibian.These accusations made it necessary for the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Victor Tonchi, to convene a meeting for yesterday morning which was still continuing at 18h00, an ECN official told The Namibian.Ndjarakana admitted to mistakes during a meeting on Wednesday The parties also accused him of giving too short notice of the date for supplementary voter registration and not letting them know at what venues registration would take place.In a letter to the ECN last week, the four parties requested that the ECN should postpone the by-election.Nico Smit of the Republican Party said his party and leaders of the DTA, RDP and CoD waited all day yesterday to see Tonchi on the matter.”Professor Tonchi phoned me just after 18h00 and said he would meet us Friday [today] at 08h00,” Smit told The Namibian.