Garoëb demanding Dâures recount

THE President of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Justus Garoëb, has renewed his party’s demand for a vote recount for the Dâures constituency.

Since the results of the November regional and local authority elections were released on November 28 2010, the party has called for a recount after Swapo took Dâures by 23 votes.According to Garoëb, the UDF ‘can prove beyond any reasonable doubt’ that Dâures ‘is a UDF stronghold’. In a letter to the chairman of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), Victor Tonchi, on December 28, Garoëb pointed out that the UDF had had ‘clear-cut wins’ in the Dâures Constituency since 1992.During the 2010 elections though, the UDF’s Dâures candidate, Apius Auchab, received 1 371 votes, losing by 23 votes to Swapo candidate Ernest Katjiku, who received 1 394 votes.It is alleged that when the verification centre at Uis closed, Auchab was ‘far in the lead’ with 1 371 votes compared to Katjiku’s total, which is claimed to have been ‘in the 900s’. However, due to alleged ‘car problems’, Team 302 allegedly gave the results ‘orally, over the telephone’ to one of the election officers, which allegedly resulted in Katjiku winning the constituency.Garoëb said Team 302 allegedly arrived two hours late at the verification centre.He alleged that Team 302 was not monitored and did not have observers since it allegedly traveled ‘all the way without any party agents’.’All counts at the polling stations were only done by the election officials, while at Uis observers were denied access to the official data by the election officials.’Surprisingly only one party agent of the UDF was allowed entrance and he verified the votes while his colleagues outside were crying foul and called for a recount before the official announcement. This was blatantly refused by the presiding officer,’ he claimed.Garoëb said the UDF’s ‘only witness who observed everything inside and was able to report any irregularity, if any’, Jorgan Matsuib (21), drowned at the fish farm at Uis soon after the results were challenged.’The UDF on several occasions unsuccessfully tried to convince your good office to intervene the irregularities encountered with the Dâures Constituency’s Mobile Team 302,’ Garoëb wrote to Tonchi. ‘We know that you, as the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, are by law and by virtue of your position empowered to allow a recount and by so doing ease the tension which is growing systematically among the electorate.’Garoëb said that, as a matter of public interest, the Director of the ECN, Moses Ndjarakana, should verify the ballot paper accounts received from the Dâures Constituency, more specifically the results of Team 302, and that his findings should be made public.The Namibian’s attempt to get comment from Tonchi or Ndjarakana yesterday was futile because they were ‘still on holiday until Tuesday or Wednesday’, according to ECN officials.