ECN thanks for poll insert

THE Director of Elections, Moses Ndjarakana, has thanked The Namibian for placing the 16-page insert of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) on the supplementary registration of voters for the November elections free of charge.

The Namibian offered to make this gesture in view of the vital importance of strategic voter information, which, because of the Government ban on advertising in this newspaper, would not otherwise have been made accessible to our readers.Public controversy erupted recently when the ECN denied readers of The Namibian access to important electoral information because of the Government ban on advertising in the newspaper. We strenuously objected to the fact that our readers had been excluded.Due to a misunderstanding at the printers, the insert appeared in yesterday’s edition of the newspaper instead of today’s. But we hope that our readers saw the insert and that they appreciate our gesture to keep them informed even in the face of the Government ban, and while other newspapers were paid to carry the ECN supplement.In a letter to The Namibian Ndjarakana said he would like to ‘thank you for this gesture and hope for good future cooperation in this regard’.The Namibian took this costly decision in the interests of its readers and to keep them informed. But we would remind the Electoral Commission and other agencies affected by the ban that they would need to find creative ways around it in future if they are serious about reaching the majority of our population, as The Namibian cannot always bear the financial costs of Government’s bias against this newspaper. – Gwen Lister, Editor