THE Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) will receive not only double the budget from last year, but will also embark on building new offices of approximately N$114 million.
Introducing the ECN’s budget in the National Assembly on Friday, Speaker The-Ben Gurirab said it was moved from the old Bank of Namibia building to a floor in the defunct National Development Corporation, but ‘faced a severe office and storage space’ there.
While last year N$40 million were allocated to the new head office project, this year the ECN will receive N$50,1 million and next year about N$23,2 million.
The total budget for the ECN for 2009-10 with national and presidential elections due in November, will be 180 million, up from about N$78,1 million in the previous financial year.
The elections will cost N$65 million plus N$3,5 million to set up a so-called election results centre; supplementary voter registration will require another N$35 million.
On top of that comes N$1,4 million for continuous registration of voters, which has already started, plus N$1,2 million for the cleaning and verification of the existing voters’ roll. Voter education campaigns earmarked for this year will cost N$9,7 million, according to the Speaker.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
