ECN suspends Kanime

THE turf war for the control of the newly proclaimed town of Omuthiya took another turn on Friday, when Elections Director Philemon Kanime and three other officials were suspended.

Kanime, his deputy Ananias Elago, Chief Control Officer Hesekiel Shigwedha and Chief System Administrator Nicodemus Mingelus have been placed on indefinite suspension in the fallout following the latest turmoil surrounding elections at Omuthiya. Elections were scheduled to be held at Omuthiya on February 29 but were dramatically called off at the last minute amidst accusations of inefficiency, questions of loyalty and claims of political knives being sharpened.Although only around 1 500 people are expected to vote at Omuthiya, it will see the first face-off between the Swapo Party and the newly formed Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), which includes a number of top former Swapo lieutenants.Although the Electoral Commission is supposed to be independent, Kanime has come under fire from sections of the Swapo Party since the formation of the RDP – they charge that Kanime should have informed Swapo about the RDP’s registration.Another bone of contention has been leaked candidate lists at Omuthiya, with fingers pointing at Swapo officials in the system.Yet others claim that Kanime laid himself open to the latest development.A well-placed source said that the failed Omuthiya local authority election was “the last straw” and there was no way Kanime would have survived Friday’s unspecified “vacation leave”.He said the election chief’s fate was sealed when the Omuthiya elections “went horribly wrong” with late registrations and inspection of the voters’ roll.”They were looking for reasons to get rid of him and he has given it on a silver plate,” said another source.’MANIPULATION’ On Friday, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Victor Tonchi, announced that former Secretary to the National Assembly Moses Ndjarakana would act in Kanime’s position.Commissioners started meeting on Friday morning to discuss Kanime’s fate, but the word was already out on Thursday evening that he would be axed.In a strongly worded statement, the National Society of Human Rights (NSHR), the only organisation that has so far reacted to the suspension, charged that Swapo had manoeuvred the suspension of Kanime, because he was seen as no longer working in the interest of the party.The human rights body issued a statement over the weekend in which it called on President Hifikepunye Pohamba to reinstate Kanime.Trouble started for Kanime when the Swapo Youth League accused him of “dubious conduct” in registering RDP without informing the ruling party and President Hifikepunye Pohamba.Because of this, they claimed that he was sympathetic to the new party and called on him to resign.”Why should I resign? What have I done? Maybe they are saying I should have rejected the party’s application.However, I was not the one who approved it,” Kanime responded at the time.In its statement, the NSHR alleged that Kanime had been good for Swapo until the registration of the RDP.It said a “die-hard clique” in the ruling party was hell-bent on manipulating the country’s democratic institutions in Swapo’s favour.LEAKS AND OBJECTIONS However, it did not end with the RDP’s registration.Swapo continued to cry foul over the names that appeared on the list of over 700 people submitted with the new party’s registration.Although the names were only forwarded to the Electoral Commission, the document was allegedly photocopied at various places, including Government institutions and offices such as the Attorney General and Justice Ministry, the Government Institutions Pension Fund and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation.Although an investigation was launched into how the list was leaked to Swapo, the ECN continued to organise the Omuthiya election, set for February 29.The voters’ roll had been open for inspection at the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court since February 12 but Swapo launched an objection to 12 names only on February 26, three days before the scheduled poll.By law the Magistrate needs at least 15 days to hear the representations of those people against whom the objections were raised.Only after the Magistrate has ruled on whether the 54 people are indeed residents of Omuthiya or not, would the ECN be in a position to continue with the elections.Why the other three official were included in the suspension was not clear over the weekend.However, ECN sources said their inclusion was an indication that Kanime was not targeted for victimisation and that the decision was purely based on the failed Omuthiya election.Elections were scheduled to be held at Omuthiya on February 29 but were dramatically called off at the last minute amidst accusations of inefficiency, questions of loyalty and claims of political knives being sharpened. Although only around 1 500 people are expected to vote at Omuthiya, it will see the first face-off between the Swapo Party and the newly formed Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), which includes a number of top former Swapo lieutenants.Although the Electoral Commission is supposed to be independent, Kanime has come under fire from sections of the Swapo Party since the formation of the RDP – they charge that Kanime should have informed Swapo about the RDP’s registration.Another bone of contention has been leaked candidate lists at Omuthiya, with fingers pointing at Swapo officials in the system.Yet others claim that Kanime laid himself open to the latest development.A well-placed source said that the failed Omuthiya local authority election was “the last straw” and there was no way Kanime would have survived Friday’s unspecified “vacation leave”.He said the election chief’s fate was sealed when the Omuthiya elections “went horribly wrong” with late registrations and inspection of the voters’ roll.”They were looking for reasons to get rid of him and he has given it on a silver plate,” said another source.’MANIPULATION’ On Friday, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Victor Tonchi, announced that former Secretary to the National Assembly Moses Ndjarakana would act in Kanime’s position.Commissioners started meeting on Friday morning to discuss Kanime’s fate, but the word was already out on Thursday evening that he would be axed.In a strongly worded statement, the National Society of Human Rights (NSHR), the only organisation that has so far reacted to the suspension, charged that Swapo had manoeuvred the suspension of Kanime, because he was seen as no longer working in the interest of the party.The human rights body issued a statement over the weekend in which it called on President Hifikepunye Pohamba to reinstate Kanime.Trouble started for Kanime when the Swapo Youth League accused him of “dubious conduct” in registering RDP without informing the ruling party and President Hifikepunye Pohamba.Because of this, they claimed that he was sympathetic to the new party and called on him to resign.”Why should I resign? What have I done? Maybe they are saying I should have rejected the party’s application.However, I was not the one who approved it,” Kanime responded at the time.In its statement, the NSHR alleged that Kanime had been good for Swapo until the registration of the RDP.It said a “die-hard clique” in the ruling party was hell-bent on manipulating the country’s democratic institutions in Swapo’s favour.LEAKS AND OBJECTIONS However, it did not end with the RDP’s registration.Swapo continued to cry foul over the names that appeared on the list of over 700 people submitted with the new party’s registration.Although the names were only forwarded to the Electoral Commission, the document was allegedly photocopied at various places, including Government institutions and offices such as the Attorney General and Justice Ministry, the Government Institutions Pension Fund and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation.Although an investigation was launched into how the list was leaked to Swapo, the ECN continued to organise the Omuthiya election, set for February 29.The voters’ roll had been open for inspection at the Ondangwa Magistrate’s
Court since February 12 but Swapo launched an objection to 12 names only on February 26, three days before the scheduled poll.By law the Magistrate needs at least 15 days to hear the representations of those people against whom the objections were raised.Only after the Magistrate has ruled on whether the 54 people are indeed residents of Omuthiya or not, would the ECN be in a position to continue with the elections.Why the other three official were included in the suspension was not clear over the weekend.However, ECN sources said their inclusion was an indication that Kanime was not targeted for victimisation and that the decision was purely based on the failed Omuthiya election.