ECN rejects NEFF’s N$6.7m damages claim

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has rejected a N$6.7-million damages claim by the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), arguing that there is no legal basis for compensation following the party’s earlier deregistration.

The NEFF is seeking damages from the ECN, claiming it suffered losses after being unlawfully de-registered ahead of the 2024 national elections.

The ECN’s legal representatives, Shikongo Law Chambers, in a letter dated 25 March dismissed the claim, describing the party’s argument that it lost potential parliamentary seats as “conjecture and inadmissible”.

The response follows correspondence from Kadhiila Amoomo Legal Practitioners about a week ago, who are representing the NEFF.

According to the ECN’s lawyers, the matter had already been addressed by the High Court, which reviewed and set aside the commission’s decision to de-register the party on 5 September 2024, two months before the November elections.

“The study you commissioned does not show the legal basis that made it arrive at the conclusion that your client would have gained two extra seats,” the ECN’s legal team says.

They further argue that the NEFF failed to demonstrate that its case qualifies as an exceptional one warranting private law damages, rather than relying on public law remedies.

“It is common cause that the remedy of review was exercised by your client, and it was granted in your client’s favour,” the lawyers state.

The ECN emphasises that not every administrative error gives rise to a claim for damages.

“It is trite that the breach of administrative duties does not necessarily translate into private law duties giving rise to delictual claims,” the letter reads.

The commission’s legal team adds that an incorrect administrative decision is not, in itself, unlawful in the delictual sense, noting that such matters are ordinarily resolved through public law remedies such as judicial review.

“We, therefore, place it on record that such damages do not arise in our law,” the ECN says.

The commission has also indicated that it will oppose any legal action brought against it.

“We will defend any action that you will institute against our client,” the lawyers warn.

The NEFF was deregistered after it allegedly failed to publish its financial reports as required in the Electoral Act.

The party later successfully challenged the deregistration in the High Court, but the legal victory came less than three months before the national elections, leaving the party little time to campaign effectively.

According to the letter NEFF’s letter to the ECN dated 13 March, the damage caused by the deregistration had already taken its toll by the time the court ruling was issued.

The party ultimately secured only one seat in parliament, which it argues was far below its expected electoral performance.

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